IVAS visual enhancement combat test based on Microsoft HoloLens 2 delay to next year

Microsoft has been developing a special version of HoloLens 2 for the US military. This device is called the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS), which replaces the Army’s own head-up display 3.0 work to develop a complex situational awareness tool that soldiers can use to view key tactical information in front of them.

Earlier this year, Microsoft won a deal to provide 120,000 military-adapted HoloLens augmented reality glasses in 10 years, valued at 21.88 billion U.S. dollars. In March of this year, Microsoft published a blog post stating that the Army has switched from the prototype design of IVAS helmet glasses to production.

Recently, the defense news publication Janes stated that the U.S. Department of Defense has delayed the Integrated Visual Enhancement System (IVAS) project. Today, the US Department of Defense responded to the report, stating that the plan is still underway, but the combat test originally scheduled for July this year has been postponed to May 2022, “in order to further mature the technology.”

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Moreover, the US Department of Defense also insists that it is fully committed to its partnership with Microsoft to advance specific technologies, meet operational requirements, and maximize the impact of combatants. That these helmet glasses are based on Microsoft’s HoloLens augmented reality goggles technology, supplemented by Azure cloud services.

According to the Army’s press release on this transaction, the IVAS system is designed to help provide enhanced situational awareness, enabling soldiers to use a single platform for combat, exercise, and training. The system is designed to provide high-resolution night, thermal and soldier-borne sensors, which are integrated into the display. These helmets also use mixed reality and machine learning to achieve a “lifelike mixed reality training environment.”

The PEO Soldier Department also released the important progress of the IVAS project since its inception in 2020, as follows:

• October/November 2020: Soldier Touchpoint 3 (STP 3) and Distinguished Lecture Day activities

• December 2020: Quick and practical decision

• January 2021: Vehicle integration VE2– Stryker & Bradley

• February 2021: cold weather test

• March 2021: Production Award

• March 2021: Tropical weather test

• April 2021: Soldier Touchpoint 4 (STP 4)

• July 2021: Navy Enlistment Standard User Review Meeting

• September 2021: Vehicle Integration VE3-Bradley

• September 2021: Adversarial electronic warfare and cyber security testing

• May 2022: Operational Test (IoT)

• September 2022: First Force Equipment (FUE)