US military will test lighter version of HoloLens glasses

The US military will test a lighter version of Microsoft’s HoloLens glasses. Microsoft had received $40 million from Congress to develop the new version, because the previous version was not sufficient.

The new version of the glasses should cause fewer physical complaints, function better in less light and function more reliably, Bloomberg writes. This should be possible, among other things, because they are lighter and better balanced, notes Engadget. The company has not released exact specifications of the new model. There are a total of 20 prototypes for testing and this will happen from August. Microsoft will deliver the headsets within two weeks.

The test should determine whether the American army will purchase the HoloLens glasses. The US Congress is against this, because the glasses in the previous version did not work well enough. If the new glasses work better, the army will place a large order.

The military expects to spend $21.9 billion on about 121,000 HoloLens glasses over a decade. The first 5000 glasses have already been ordered and will soon be used for training purposes. The glasses are a modified version of Microsoft’s HoloLens AR glasses and should, among other things, help soldiers see in the dark.