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US Congress Halts Orders of Microsoft AR Combat Goggles Amid Reports of Headaches & Eyestrain

January 13, 2023 From roadtovr

In 2021, Microsoft won a United States Army defense contract worth up to $22 billion which would support the development of an Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS), a tactical AR headset for soldiers based on HoloLens 2. Now Congress has rejected the Army’s request for $400 million to buy as many as 6,900 more of the AR combat goggles this year, a Bloomberg report maintains.

The rejection cites rocky tests conducted last year. Testing was done over a three-week period ending June 18th, where the Army assessed Microsoft’s IVAS with a cadre of 70 Army infantry soldiers, who were tasked with using the device during three 72-hour combat scenarios.

Complaints included “mission-affecting physical impairments,” with more than 80 percent of soldiers experiencing headaches, eyestrain and nausea after less than three hours using the goggles.

None of this comes as a giant surprise though, as Microsoft was reportedly bracing for negative field tests back in early 2022 due to alleged quality problems.

Softening the blow somewhat, lawmakers have earmarked $40 million to develop a new IVAS model, Army spokesman David Patterson said in an email obtained by Bloomberg.

This comes only a few weeks after the Army awarded a $125 million “task order” for the development of a new model, dubbed version 1.2, which is said to include software improvements for better reliability and reduced power demand.

The 1.2 version task order is said to provide “improvements based on completed test events” which aim at a developing a “lower profile Heads-Up Display with distributed counterweight for improved user interface and comfort.”

In the meantime, the Army will be using its first batch of 5,000 goggles for training—only a small fraction of the max 121,000 devices, spares and support services stipulated in the $22 billion deal.

Filed Under: AR Headset, ar industry, AR News, Microsoft, News

Microsoft & Meta to Bring Key Productivity Tools to Quest, Including Windows 11 via Cloud

October 11, 2022 From roadtovr

Meta and Microsoft today announced at Connect that starting in 2023 the Quest platform is getting a host of Windows productivity tools along with the ability to use Windows 11 via the cloud.

First, here’s a list of what’s coming to the Quest platform:

  • Microsoft Teams immersive meeting experiences for Meta Quest: Connect,
    share, and collaborate in Teams immersive experiences.
  • Microsoft Windows 365: Stream the Windows experience on Quest Pro and Quest 2 devices, and access your personalized apps, content, and settings in VR.
  • Microsoft 365 app experiences: Interact with 2D content from
    Sharepoint or productivity apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook directly from Quest Pro and Quest 2.
  • Microsoft Teams/Workrooms integration: Join a Teams meeting from inside
    Workrooms.
  • Meta Avatars in Microsoft Teams: Use your Meta Avatar in Teams for
    whiteboarding, brainstorming, and meetups.
  • Microsoft Intune and Azure Active Directory support: Enable
    enterprise security and management on Quest Pro and Quest 2 devices.

Notably, Windows 365 gives business and enterprise users access to a version of Windows 10 or Windows 11, streaming from Cloud PCs to the user’s web browser.

The partnership is ostensibly building on Meta’s early steps towards virtual offices with Horizon Workrooms, something Meta says will help make Meta Quest Pro “an enterprise-ready device that’s easy to use, deploy, and manage at scale.”

Key Quest Pro Coverage:

Quest Pro Revealed – Full Specs, Price, & Release Date

Quest Pro Hands-on – The Dawn of the Mixed Reality Headset Era

Quest Pro Technical Analysis – What’s Promising & What’s Not

Touch Pro Controllers Revealed – Also Compatible with Quest 2

There’s no launch date in sight yet, however the companies say we can expect to see these apps sometime next year.

A new ‘Meta Quest for Business’ subscription bundle for Quest Pro and Quest 2 is also said to include “essential admin features” such as device and application management, premium support, and access to Microsoft Intune and Azure Active Directory.

“This means companies that want to provision Meta Quest devices can be confident that the security and management options they expect from PCs and mobile devices will be available in VR,” Meta says.

This comes alongside the official unveiling of Quest Pro, which carries with it the very business-centric price tag of $1,500 for the 256 GB model.

Filed Under: connect 2022, Meta, meta quest, meta quest pro, Microsoft, Microsoft VR, microsoft windows 10, microsoft windows 10 for vr, microsoft windows 11 for vr, News, quest 2, quest pro, Windows, windows 11, windows vr

Microsoft’s Battlefield AR Headset in Jeopardy After Deep Budget Cuts

July 29, 2022 From roadtovr

Microsoft’s big defense contract that looks to supply the US Army with modified HoloLens AR headsets isn’t going so well. As first reported by Bloomberg, the Senate panel that oversees defense spending announced significant cuts to the Army’s fiscal 2023 procurement request for the device.

Microsoft announced last year it had won a US Army defense contact worth up to $22 billion to develop an Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS), a tactical AR headset for soldiers based on HoloLens 2 technology.

Now the Appropriations Defense Subcommittee announced it’s cut $350 million from the Army’s procurement plans for IVAS, leaving around $50 million for the device. The subcommittee cites concerns based around the program’s overall effectiveness.

Concept testing in 2019, Image courtesy CNBC

“The Committee remains concerned that IVAS continues to face software, hardware, and user-acceptance challenges that the Army has not sufficiently addressed,” an official statement reads, which was obtained by Breaking Defense. “While the Committee was encouraged by the Department of the Army’s 2021 decision to extend testing and evaluation for an additional 10 months, it notes that significant development challenges with IVAS 1.1 remain.”

Earlier this year the US Congress froze $394 million from the Army’s IVAS budget, which Business Insider noted at the time would only leave around $400 million. Even then, that was allegedly $200 million short of what Microsoft needed to recuperate development costs.

Instead the US government appears to be reallocating the 2023 funds to support procurement of the Army’s Enhanced Night Vision Goggle-Binocular, increasing that program’s budget by $300 million.

The subcommittee also increased spending on a number of other Army programs, including ground vehicle procurement, Abrams tank upgrades, Stryker upgrades, new Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicles, and approved budgets for both AH-64 Apache and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.

Business Insider reported earlier this year that Microsoft had internally expressed low expectations for its latest version of IVAS, which was set to begin real-world operational tests in May.

This follows reports that cast doubt on a prospective HoloLens 3 amid an internal division that may have hobbled the company’s efforts to release its next AR headset as planned.

Filed Under: hololens 2, hololens 3, ivas, Microsoft, Microsoft HoloLens, microsoft ivas, Military Applications, military ar, military contract, News

HoloLens Chief Alex Kipman to Leave Microsoft Amid Misconduct Allegations

June 8, 2022 From roadtovr

Alex Kipman is leaving Microsoft amid what an Insider report alleges to have stemmed from misconduct allegations leveled at the HoloLens co-creator.

The report maintains that Microsoft Cloud head Scott Guthrie is planning a reorganization of the departments, as Kipman is set to leave the company in the next two months as a part of transition process.

According to an email obtained by Insider, the company’s mixed reality hardware teams will join the Windows and Devices organization, which will be led by Panos Panay, whilst MR software teams will join the Experiences and Devices division under Jeff Teper.

The report details alleged actions by Kipman, including inappropriate behavior such as  “unwanted touching” of women employees and an instance wherein Kipman viewed an adult VR video in front of other employees.

“Managers warned employees not to leave women alone around Kipman,” the report maintains, according to three affected sources.

Insider says “[m]ore than 25 employees shared their experiences as part of a report that was compiled about Kipman.”

Military version of HoloLens (IVAS) | Image courtesy Microsoft

A former colleague told Insider that the pandemic was “[t]he best thing that happened, sadly,” as no one on the team had to interact with him personally.

Kipman hasn’t responded to any of these allegations. Microsoft also declined to confirm or deny the specific allegations against Kipman, however the company says it’s investigating every report and “for every claim found substantiated there is clear action taken.”

This follows a Business Insider report from earlier this year that cast doubt on a prospective HoloLens 3 amid an internal division that may have hobbled the company’s efforts to release its next AR headset as planned.

That earlier report maintained that progress on fulfilling its $22 billion US defense contract, which aims to put HoloLens in battlefield roles over the next 10 years, has been stymied by internal production issues.

An alleged internal rift stemming from competing designs, one of which would completely reposition HoloLens as a consumer AR device, were citied as reasons for the lack of progress on release of the next-gen device.

Filed Under: alex kipman, AR News, hololens 2, hololens 3, kipman, Microsoft, Microsoft HoloLens, News

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