Army plans on fielding next-gen headset in 2021

[Forerunner]

The Army's next-generation headset is almost ready for prime time

Slowly but surely, the Army's augmented reality headset is transitioning from delicate high-tech novelty to reinforced, ruggedized battlefield asset ahead of its eventual fielding to soldiers starting in the fiscal year 2021

taskandpurpose.com

The U.S. Army's augmented reality headset is slowly but surely transitioning from delicate high-tech novelty to reinforced, ruggedized battlefield asset ahead of its eventual fielding to soldiers starting in 2021.

Click to shrink...

Soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division and a handful of Marines were the latest American service members to test out the much-hyped Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) during a major testing and demonstration event held at Fort Pickett in late October.

Click to shrink...

The IVAS capabilities the Army put to the test include a digital display to access information without taking eyes off the battlefield, thermal and low-light sensors, rapid target acquisition, and aided target identification. In addition, the headset's augmented reality "fight-rehearse-train" system, which incorporates real-time mapping, is endlessly applicable for training and rehearsing operations "anywhere at any time," as the Army previously put it.

Click to shrink...

While the Army's new ruggedized IVAS goggles represent a major improvement over the delicate commercial HoloLens, the headset still has one more technological metamorphosis ahead of it: According to the Defense Department's chief operational testing authority, the upcoming IVAS Capability Set 4 "will be the production-ready end-user device to provide enhanced squad lethality."

The Army plans on fielding more than 40,000 IVAS goggles to soldiers by late fiscal year 2021, according to the service's budget request released in February.

Click to shrink...

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

 

[Taco_Human]

"Excess" military gear going to city police forces in 3...2...

 

[Septy]

Missing a big opportunity not calling it Mjolnir

 

[HammerOfThor]

Wow I remember this being big when the first 360 Ghost Recon came out, I completely forgot it was a real thing.

 

[Ether_Snake]

Coming to a police precinct near you.

 

[absoluteMadLad]

Ghost Recon in real life.

 

[ginger ninja]

It's probably going to the top 1% units and SF. No way they are going to issue this to everyone.

 

[Mathmarauder]

Will it work with both next gen consoles?

 

[Percival Sparkletrout]

So this gives soldiers VATS?

 

[nihilence]

 

[StereoVSN]

Hold on, is this Xbox compatible? Also how long until bunch of hunters want to buy it?

 

[Siggy-P]

So this gives soldiers VATS?

Click to shrink...

From descriptions of it (and the last version that was cancelled before Hololens) it's more like Batman detective Vision.

Ie: You can see other people through walls and what people are holding and position of stuff highlighted, etc...

Will it work with both next gen consoles?

Click to shrink...

 

[Jroc]

Combine it with that Israeli gun that never misses

 

[VariantX]

"Excess" military gear going to city police forces in 3...2...

Click to shrink...

It really do be like that. They come out there with a fully perked CoD loadout with tanks on unarmed protesters all day.

I used to be excited about shit like this as a kid because there would be something that evolves into civilian use over time but now It just fills me with dread with how much more ease can they kill people.

 

[fanboi]

While this is military shit that could be used in better stuff, it is quite cool tech. Any video that show how it works?

 

[Forerunner]

IVAS goggle amplifies mounted capabilities

IVAS Mounted Amplifies CapabilitiesBy: Courtney Bacon“IVAS is more than just a goggle, it's changing the way we fight.”- MAJ Kevin Smith, PM IVAS...

www.army.mil

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCORD, Wa. – The Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) is being developed to address capability gaps in the dismounted close combat force identified by Army leadership via the 2018 National Defense Strategy. The intent is to integrate key technology systems into one device to provide a single platform for Soldiers to fight, rehearse, and train.

IVAS looks at the Soldier as a weapons system, carefully balancing weight and Soldier load with its enhanced capabilities. Therefore, the Army is looking to amplify the impact of one dismounted Soldier equipped with IVAS and apply its capability set to mounted platforms as well.

Click to shrink...

"I struggled when I was a squad leader getting out of the bay not knowing where I was because we get dropped at different spots in the op order," said SGT John Martin, Bradley Master Gunner from 3rd Infantry Division. "Not having information on the ground was definitely a challenge that tripped us up."

The squads took turns in the Stryker and Bradley vehicles testing each camera view and function, power management, communications, and the ease of mounting and dismounting with the IVAS. The Soldiers quickly saw that the capabilities being developed for dismounted Soldiers via IVAS are amplified by integrating the system into platforms using World View, 360 degree, and See capabilities that leverage the view of external sensors to be transmitted to the Heads Up Display (HUD) of each individual Soldier.

Click to shrink...

The event was another step towards developing IVAS, which was recently approved to move from rapid prototyping to production and rapid fielding in an effort to deliver next generation capabilities to the close combat force at the speed of relevance.

"One of the goals of IVAS was that it's going to be a fighting goggle as well as a training goggle and we are 100% attempting to bring both to reality," said Braly. "This is one of those key moments in our military's history where we're able to look back and acknowledge that we're not where we want to be and we're willing to make bold strides to get there. IVAS is without question an effort to do that, and we're working diligently every day to make this a reality."

Team IVAS continues to iterate the hardware and software prototype towards the Operational Test planned for July 2021 and FUE in 4QFY21.

"This is something that none of us imaged we would see in our careers," said Martin. "It's futuristic technology that we've all talked about and seen in movies and video games, but it's something that we never imaged we would have the chance to fight with. It's definitely technology that we are really excited to use as soon as they can get it to us."

Click to shrink...

 

[orava]

Those looks really sturdy and probably do not break easily at all.