Congress waits for the Army to purchase additional Microsoft HoloLens for over 50 billion yen

It is reported that the US Congress has rejected the US Army's request to purchase up to 6900 headsets based on Microsoft's mixed reality (MR) headset ' HoloLens ' technology. The U.S. Army had requested about $400 million (about 52 billion yen) in the $1.75 trillion (about 226 trillion yen) government funding bill, but during the test, the 'mission' caused headaches and nausea. It is believed that Congress has put a hold on reports of 'physical disabilities affecting

Microsoft Combat Goggles Falter as Congress Says No to Buying More This Year - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-12/microsoft-combat-goggles-falter-as-congress-says-no-to-buying-more-this-year

Congress says the Army can't spend $400 million buying Microsoft HoloLens headsets - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/12/23552132/microsoft-hololens-army-contract-denied-v1-2-improvements

The US Army has been planning to introduce Microsoft's HoloLens customized model for military use as an integrated visual augmentation system (IVAS) since 2018. In addition to displaying real-time information such as sensors and navigation on IVAS's HoloLens, it is planned to be equipped with functional integration of night vision goggles and infrared goggles, and augmented reality (AR) training function.

The US Army has already tested a total of 100,000 hours by about 1,000 soldiers and developed a new model, HoloLens for IVAS, named version 1.2.

The US Army has signed a contract with Microsoft to supply 121,000 devices, spare parts, and support services in 10 years for $ 21.9 billion (about 2.83 trillion yen), and has already ordered 5,000 HoloLens. This HoloLens is scheduled to be used for training until an improved version is developed.

Microsoft signs a contract to supply 120,000 units of 'HoloLens' to the US Army for more than 2 trillion yen - GIGAZINE

However, the U.S. Congress rejected the Army's request, citing concerns over the results of the field tests. The test revealed 'physical impairments that affect mission' such as headaches, eye strain, and nausea.

Microsoft HoloLens test found that more than 80% of US soldiers had headaches and nausea - GIGAZINE

U.S. Army spokesman David Patterson said Congress approved $40 million of the $400 million raised to develop a new model of goggles. says.

In addition, to address the physical disabilities already revealed in the tests, the US Army has 'new form factors' and 'thin head-up displays with distributed counterweights to improve UI and comfort', software It states that it is preparing version 1.2 of IVAS, which includes improvements to Bloomberg reports that the U.S. Army has already contracted $125 million from its 2022 budget to Microsoft to develop this IVAS version 1.2.