Gaming headset lets soldiers see through walls, shoot around corners – and get instant replay for kills
US Army has showed off how it's using Microsoft's mixed-reality Holo Lens technology in testing - and it could be on the battlefield next year
SOLDIERS are training using "mixed reality" headsets that could give them huge advantages on the battlefield.
The gear lets the Marines using it see normally, but also adds an extra layer of information you'd expect to see if you were playing a futuristic video game.
This means that a squad using the technology can effectively see each other perfectly through walls or other cover, as well as seeing heat signatures of hidden enemies on top of what they would normally see.
The technology can then highlight the hidden foe and are detailed enough "to identify clothing types, weapons and other items", according to developers.
Soldiers can also link in video feeds to play in real time.
This could include cameras mounted to their guns, letting them accurately take out targets without having to look down the gun's sights.
Army chiefs have very high hopes for the technology.
The headsets are based on the technology inside Microsoft's HoloLens 2 and are called IVAS -- Integrated Visual Augmentation System.
While those headsets are still pretty bulky, a version that fits "like a pair of sunglasses" could be with soldiers within six months.
McCarthy and Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville told reporters that they expect a usable version to be with soldiers as early as October 2020 -- just eighteen months time.
McCarthy also said that he expects to begin “thousands and thousands of soldiers” to have headsets like this as soon as 2022.
The headsets go beyond what Microsoft's off-the-shelf £2,700 consumer devices too.
There are 12 different companies contracted to provide sensors that feed into the device, meaning the device is "next-level for training and for the future of Marines", according to one soldier quoted by CNBC.
Microsoft have won an exclusive contract to work with the Army for two years, but other companies are getting into the mixed-reality game too.
Google, for instance, has its own Magic Leap goggles that can turn your office or living room into the setting for a combat video game.
Facebook meanwhile is building a pair of AR glasses that can beam virtual friends into your home.
And even Apple is supposedly working on a pair of AR goggles – with a rumoured 2020 release window.
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