The tech giant Microsoft will sell augmented reality headsets to the US military for a large deal worth up to $ 21.9bn (£ 15.9bn) over a decade.
Headphones are based on their HoloLens product, which allows users to see holograms placed on top of their actual environment.
The contract is for more than 120,000 headsets, to be made in the US.
Microsoft shares have risen 3% after being announced on Wednesday
AR Headsets
Augmented reality differs from virtual reality, in that it adds graphics to the user’s existing field of view instead of replacing it with an entirely new environment.
Because of this, users can see “heads-up displays” or holographs, which can add more details to what they see.
HoloLens is available for sale at $ 3,500 per headset, Microsoft sells it mainly to businesses, which often integrate it with software applications.
Architecture firms, hospitals, universities, car manufacturers and US space agency Nasa are among the technology’s users.
Microsoft’s Work With US Army
For the past two years, Microsoft has been working with the US Army in the field of demonstration of the so-called Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS).
The company said that the Army had moved into the production phase of the project.
In a blog post, Microsoft said the headsets “will keep soldiers safer and make them more effective”.
“The program delivers enhanced situational awareness, enabling information sharing and decision-making in a variety of scenarios,” the post said.
After Microsoft announced the $480m IVAS contract in 2018, at least 94 workers petitioned the company to cancel the deal and stop developing “any and all weapons technologies”.
