Microsoft wants to hand off much of its Army HoloLens program to Palmer Luckey’s Anduril<p>Microsoft’s six-year-old program to <a data-i13n="cpos:1;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-will-deliver-improved-hololens-combat-goggles-to-army-testers-this-month-211521914.html">make HoloLens headsets for the US Army[/url] could be getting some extra help. If the Department of Defense approves the deal, the company will <a data-i13n="elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:2;pos:1" class="no-affiliate-link" href="
https://news.microsoft.com/2025/02/11/anduril-and-microsoft-partner-to-advance-integrated-visual-augmentation-system-ivas-program-for-the-u-s-army/" data-original-link="
https://news.microsoft.com/2025/02/11/anduril-and-microsoft-partner-to-advance-integrated-visual-augmentation-system-ivas-program-for-the-u-s-army/">expand[/url] its existing <a data-i13n="elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:3;pos:1" class="no-affiliate-link" href="
https://www.anduril.com/article/anduril-microsoft-army-ivas/" data-original-link="
https://www.anduril.com/article/anduril-microsoft-army-ivas/">partnership[/url] with Anduril Industries, <a data-i13n="cpos:4;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/2019-03-11-palmer-luckey-anduril-wins-project-maven-contract.html">Palmer Luckey’s defense startup[/url], for the next stages of the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) program.</p>
<p>Microsoft, which <a data-i13n="cpos:5;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/2019-02-23-microsoft-workers-demand-end-to-hololens-contract-with-army.html">spearheaded the program[/url], would transition into supplying AI and cloud infrastructure. Meanwhile, Anduril would do pretty much everything else, including “oversight of production, future development of hardware and software and delivery timelines.”</p>
<span id="end-legacy-contents"></span><p>Anduril makes a wide array of defense tech, including <a data-i13n="cpos:6;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/2019-10-03-palmer-luckey-anduril-interceptor-counter-drone.html">drone interceptors[/url], sentry towers, comms jammers, drones and even <a data-i13n="cpos:7;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/anduril-buys-dive-technologies-underwater-drones-144238867.html">an autonomous submarine[/url]. But given Luckey’s background as the primary inventor of the <a data-i13n="cpos:8;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/2016-03-28-oculus-rift-review.html">Oculus Rift[/url] — and, by extension, the modern consumer XR industry — the IVAS program could perhaps be the defense tech startup’s most natural fit.</p>
<figure><img src="
https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2025-02/1e3241c0-e8a6-11ef-9bf5-4c1aa322414e" data-crop-orig-src="
https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2025-02/1e3241c0-e8a6-11ef-9bf5-4c1aa322414e" style="height:1229px;width:2048px;" alt="Two US Army soldiers wearing HoloLens-based military AR headsets." data-uuid="ce7e31b3-2cfb-3ca6-a63c-4ceec5f88d16"><figcaption></figcaption><div class="photo-credit">US Army / Microsoft</div></figure>
<p>Microsoft started <a data-i13n="cpos:9;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/2019-04-06-us-army-shows-hololens-use.html">working with the Army in 2019[/url], using a modified <a data-i13n="cpos:10;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/microsoft-kills-hololens-2-with-no-plans-for-a-follow-up-device-153319304.html">HoloLens 2[/url] for a headset that reportedly felt like “a real-life game of
Call of Duty.” Early prototypes allowed soldiers to see a virtual map showing their squad’s locations, a compass and their weapon’s reticle. Thermal imaging served as an alternative to traditional night vision headsets.</p>
<p>But the program ran into speed bumps, one of which was all too familiar to many who tried <a data-i13n="cpos:11;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/2016-06-15-resident-evil-7-vr-sickness-ps-vr.html">poorly designed VR games[/url]: It made them want to hurl. In addition to nausea, the headsets also led to eyestrain and headaches. Their bulk, limited field of view and — perhaps worst of all — an emitted glow (which could make them easy pickings for an enemy) didn’t help, either.</p>
<p>The problems contributed to Congress <a data-i13n="cpos:12;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-hololens-army-combat-goggles-congress-block-202637552.html">denying the Army’s request to buy 6,900 pairs[/url] as part of a 2023 government funding bill. Instead, it allocated $40 million for Microsoft to develop a new version, which the Army <a data-i13n="cpos:13;pos:1" href="
https://www.army.mil/article/268702/army_accepts_prototypes_of_the_most_advanced_version_of_ivas">accepted[/url] later that year. However, the headset has yet to make it onto the battlefield.</p>
<p>
Bloomberg <a data-i13n="elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:14;pos:1" class="no-affiliate-link" href="
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-11/anduril-to-take-over-managing-microsoft-goggles-for-us-infantry" data-original-link="
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-11/anduril-to-take-over-managing-microsoft-goggles-for-us-infantry">reported[/url] on Tuesday that early feedback of the latest IVAS prototypes is encouraging, but the Army wants the cost to be “substantially less than” each headset’s currently projected $80,000. The Army could eventually order as many as 121,000 devices, but the new version would still need to pass a high-stress combat test this year before going into full production.</p>
<p>In December, Anduril partnered with OpenAI to <a data-i13n="cpos:15;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-signs-deal-with-palmer-luckeys-anduril-to-develop-military-ai-213356951.html">develop AI for the Pentagon[/url]. That deal will have the ChatGPT maker supplying its <a data-i13n="cpos:16;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/openai-claims-that-its-free-gpt-4o-model-can-talk-laugh-sing-and-see-like-a-human-184249780.html">GPT-4o[/url] and <a data-i13n="cpos:17;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/ai/openais-new-o1-model-is-slower-on-purpose-185711459.html">OpenAI o1[/url] models to Anduril’s drone defense systems for the military.</p>This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/microsoft-wants-to-hand-off-much-of-its-army-hololens-program-to-palmer-luckeys-anduril-190223240.html?src=rssSource:
Microsoft wants to hand off much of its Army HoloLens program to Palmer Luckey’s Anduril
