Source: FREEK VAN DEN BERGH / Getty
The US Military is taking combat on the battlefield to another level. The US Army has awarded Microsoft a massive $480 million contract to supply Hololens headsets for use in combat situations.
Sounds like Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is coming to fruition.
Armies have already been using Microsoft’s Augmented Reality headsets for training soldiers, but now Bloomberg reports the US Army is ready to take the next step. Its aim in using the Hololens on the battlefield is to “increase lethality by enhancing the ability to detect, decide and engage before the enemy,” according to a description from the government.
In hoping to get a device that could one day allow measuring soldiers breathing and other vital signs, monitor for concussions, protect hearing as well as supply night vision, the Army urged companies like Microsoft, Magic Leap, and others to put in bids for the contract. With the company birthed by Bill Gates ultimately winning, “Augmented reality technology will provide troops with more and better information to make decisions. This new work extends our longstanding, trusted relationship with the Department of Defense to this new area,” the company said in a statement to Bloomberg.
The deal hasn’t been met with any backlash yet like Google’s $10 million Project Maven contract that the company eventually elected to say no to due to employee’s speaking out against it. Microsoft’s CEO and President Brad Smith have stated the company will not selling its software to the US Military and will allow its employees who have issues to switch projects.
Warfare and keeping troops safe through technology isn’t a new concept. This is just another step to eventually eliminating soldiers from being on the battlefield altogether.
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Photo: FREEK VAN DEN BERGH / Getty
