U.S. Congress halts procurement of HoloLens-based combat goggles

The U.S. government has halted plans to purchase more Microsoft HoloLens-based AR combat goggles because of previously identified issues. Bloomberg reports.

Initially, the U.S. Army planned to buy 6,900 pairs of combat goggles for $400 million as part of the 2023 defense budget, which totals a record $1.75 trillion. However, lawmakers approved only $40 million, which will be used to develop a new version of the headset.

When developing a new version of the goggles, results of last year’s tests will be taken into account. Back then, 70 soldiers wore the current iteration of the HoloLens for three 72-hour scenarios simulating combat conditions.

As a result of testing, service members complained of headaches, fatigue, and nausea. More than 80% began to experience discomfort less than three hours into a 72-hour session.

Testers also reported frequent ‘failures of core functions’ of the headset.

Yet the Army still plans to fulfill a Microsoft contract worth $21.9 billion and to field 121,000 devices over the next decade.

Earlier, HoloLens division head Alex Kipman left the company amid allegations of toxic conduct and harassment. Concurrently, the tech giant announced a reorganisation of its MR division.

Earlier in September 2022, the U.S. Army received 5000 AR headsets based on HoloLens 2.

In May, the Pentagon said it planned to cut spending on combat goggles in half. Military officials said the initial contract reflected a ‘pessimistic scenario,’ and the funding adjustment would not affect the contract.

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