New tests with Microsoft’s improved AR headsets have convinced the US military to put more trust in the material again with the HoloLens. This has already led to a new contract.

The US military has renewed its confidence in the capabilities of Microsoft’s HoloLens AR headsets. Tests with version 1.2 resulted in positive feedback, which has now been rewarded with a new contract.

AR soldiers

The saga between Microsoft HoloLens AR headsets and the US military has been going on for more than two years now. In April 2021, both parties signed a monster contract for no fewer than 120,000 units of the headsets. The value of this deal was almost $22 billion.

Several soldiers began testing them rigorously, but this did not produce the hoped-for results. Soldiers complained of physical complaints such as nausea and headaches. In addition, there were a number of technical unreliabilities, such as a poor field of vision or a dangerously glowing display that could reveal the wearer’s position.

The American Congress was not happy about this and the mega purchase of the HoloLens AR headsets was blocked. Microsoft then began working on improvements and in July this year version 1.2 was ready for a new round of testing.

Apparently the headsets were much more popular this time. Twenty renewed units were again extensively tested by two groups of soldiers and no longer suffered from the previous physical complaints. Microsoft was also able to fix the technical problems and received a renewed contract on September 5th in return for all the positive feedback. This paves the way for practical testing in realistic situations, now planned for 2025.