The report says Microsoft's HoloLens can cause soldiers headaches The report is available here: SiliconANGLE News

One year and a one-half following the time that Microsoft Corp. won a possible contract worth $22 billion to provide its HoloLens virtual reality headsets for the U.S. Army, the contract hasn’t been as successful when it was discovered that the majority of soldiers experienced headaches due to the new generation headset.

Bloomberg published today that a study conducted by the Pentagon’s testing office discovered that the majority of soldiers who use HoloLens experienced “mission-affecting physical disabilities,” including headaches, nausea and eyestrain. These numbers are substantial with over 80percent of Army users feeling uncomfortable within less than three hours of wearing an adapted variant of HoloLens (pictured).

Headaches aren’t the only thing but they get more severe. It was also discovered that the HoloLens wasn’t reliable. In a document for Defense Department officials, Nickolas Guertin director of test and evaluation, claimed that the HoloLens system is not performing crucial tasks. The findings were presented in a document which was not intended to be published.

Guertin did not suggest to the U.S. Army give up on the HoloLens However, he did not suggest that the HoloLens be discontinued. However, Guertin is said to have suggested to the Army “prioritize enhancements” prior to widespread deployment in order to lessen the “physical discomfort experienced by the users.” Guertin’s suggestions comprise enhancements to the low-light sensors of the goggles display clarity, display clarity and field of vision, as well as the reliability of a few vital functions.

Despite the fact that it seems to have hurt the majority of users Guertin was able to provide positive feedback about the devices, though it was an insignificant one According to him, the new version is easier to fix than the previous models. Soldiers and officials have said that the most recent version has “enhanced control and coordinated movements within units” amid headaches.

For over 10 years, augmented and virtual reality have been touted as the next big trend however, as companies such as Meta Platforms Inc. have discovered, the vision isn’t yet a reality.

Microsoft’s HoloLens has been widely regarded as the most reliable use of the technology within the pack, having launched in the year 2010 and gaining unique commercial uses in. Many competitors and copycats have emerged since Microsoft introduced HoloLens particularly Google Glass, which sort of went out of business, but then was back with an enterprise version in 2020.

The idea that next-generation technology isn’t infallible is not new, as is the case with Tesla Inc.’s autos’ tendency to hitting ambulances. But hybrid reality technology, at the very least in theory, isn’t as difficult to implement as self-driving vehicles.

Image: U.S. Army


Support the mission of our organization by Joining the Cube Club and Cube Event Community of experts. Join the community with Amazon Web Services and Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy, Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger and many more prominent and renowned experts.