Microsoft’s HoloLens Goggles causes discomfort to U.S. Soldiers during field test | Digit

The U.S. soldiers in their latest field test suffered “mission-affecting physical impairments”, including headaches, eyestrain and nausea while using Microsoft’s new Army goggles, HoloLens, as per the summarized report by Pentagon. Nickolas Guertin, director of Operation Test and Evaluation, said, “More than 80% of the soldiers experienced discomfort and had symptoms after less than three hours of using the customized goggles.”

The Army outlined problems in the testing in May and June in a 79-page report this month, mentioned that the system was experiencing too many essential functions failures, and marked it “Controlled Unclassified Information” to prevent public distribution.

Despite the device’s flaws, Guertin has recommended that the Army prioritize improvements before widespread deployment to reduce the physical discomfort of users. He added improvements to the goggle’s low-light sensors, display clarity, field of vision and poor reliability of some essential functions.. 

Microsoft’s Integrated Visual Augmentation System, or IVAS, is expected to provide a heads-up display similar to that of the fighter pilots for U.S. ground forces. It will allow commanders to project information onto a visor in front of a soldier’s face and include night vision. The Army will likely spend $21.9 billion over a decade on goggles, spare parts and support services.

The latest version enhanced navigation and coordination of unit movements as reported by the leaders and the soldiers. Moreover, the mean time between the failures that render the whole system inoperable has improved in the latest model.

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