Microsoft and Anduril Industries announced a wider partnership to the next phase of the U.S. Army's Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) program. Pending Department of Defense approval, Anduril will assume production, continued hardware and software development, and delivery schedules for the program.
Microsoft says the IVAS program is a revolutionary military technology that offers soldiers an entire, body-worn system bringing advanced augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) capabilities. The collaboration leverages the two firms' respective strengths.
This collaboration draws on the strengths of both companies. Anduril's approach to military technology will ensure tailored future program design for the U.S. Army, along with scalable manufacturing and lower cost. Microsoft's cloud and AI technologies will form the foundation of the program, delivering data integration and real-time analytics that are key to the soldiers' effectiveness.
“The IVAS program represents the future of mission command, combining technology and human capability to give soldiers the edge they need on the battlefield,” said Palmer Luckey, founder of Anduril Industries.
As part of the agreement, Microsoft Azure will become Anduril's preferred hyperscale cloud for all workloads related to IVAS. The company stated that Azure's commercial, U.S. government, and classified cloud offerings provide the high resiliency, sophisticated capabilities, flexibility, and advanced security required to meet the stringent compliance requirements of the most sensitive data.
On the other hand, Microsoft's Corporate Vice President of Mixed Reality, Robin Seiler, indicated that the company is phasing out hardware development but will continue to provide support for HoloLens 2 hardware and software through 2027, as it had earlier indicated that it would. Seiler stated (as reported by The Verge):
We are transitioning away from hardware development but will continue to provide support for HoloLens2 hardware and software through 2027, as announced in October. We remain committed to the IVAS program and will shift our focus to cloud and AI technologies, which will serve as the foundation for IVAS as a situational awareness platform.
In case you missed it, Microsoft announced the HoloLens 2 over five years ago. The second-generation HoloLens went on sale in September 2019, and the first customers received their orders later in November.
"We are incredibly proud of the work our teams have put in to help the U.S. Army transform its concept of a soldier-borne, AR headset into reality with the IVAS program. Our Soldier-Centered Design approach helped reimagine technology development with the Army that continuously took in real-world soldier feedback to develop a product that soldiers love," said Robin Seiler.
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