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South,Todd(2021,October 14) Mixed reality’ goggle program is trying to fix a field-of-view problem,https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2021/10/14/mixed-reality-goggle-program-is-trying-to-fix-a-field-of-view-problem/

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The Army has slightly delayed a portion of work being done on its futuristic " mixed reality " goggles to improve consistency across devices, moisture control and improved range of view, according to officials involved in the program.

The Integrated Visual Augmentation System, or IVAS, was scheduled for an operational test this fall, but that has been pushed to May 2022.

That also delays the first unit to be equipped with the goggles from mid-fiscal 2022 to September 2022, the end of the fiscal year.

The device has used the Microsoft HoloLens platform to build a goggle capable of rapid target acquisition, navigation, target marking and a host of other features.

Earlier this year, the Army announced a $21.8 billion contract with Microsoftunder the IVAS program.

Maj. Gen. Anthony Potts, head of Program Executive Office-Soldier, spoke with Army Times on Thursday about the shift, which was announced in an official release the same day.

Potts said that his team, has been working with Army's Night Vision Labs and Microsoft throughout the project since 2018.

Here is the current IVAS schedule, according to Program Executive Office-Soldier:

October 2020: Soldier Touchpoint 3

December 2020: Rapid fielding decision

January 2021: Vehicle integration with Strykers and Bradleys.

February 2021: Cold weather test

March 2021: Production award, tropical weather test

April 2021: Soldier Touchpoint 4

July 2021: Criteria before planned operational test user jury provided

September 2021: Vehicle integration again with the Bradley, focused on adversarial electronic warfare and cybersecurity.

May 2022: Operational test

September 2022: First unit equipped

In the lead-up to tests this August, Potts said there were inconsistencies in some of the heads-up displays. The issue, at times, caused a "screen door effect," meaning the image resolution had a kind of gridded view.

The technicians narrowed the problem down to moisture content in the system, Potts said. And developers have a solution.

Another hurdle involved the field-of-view. Even the best goggle devices, a 40-degree field-of-view was the best range achieved, according to Potts. The IVAS program aimed to double that to an 80-degree field-of-view.

The problem, Potts said, was that pushed the boundaries of what waveguide technology is capable of at this time.

The wider field-of-view caused a stretching effect that slightly misaligned imagery in the mixed reality view.

Potts likened it to stretching out a balloon and seeing a distorted view. Though it's nearly indiscernible, the human eye constantly tries to reconcile the misalignment, which can cause problems.

Though the issues were not deal breakers on delivering the device, Potts said that he informed the Army Acquisition Executive Office and senior leadership that he thought it best to work out those problems while continuing efforts on other elements of the goggle.

Other work that is going according to schedule, Potts said, includes stabilizing software sets, single-channel data radio linkage, tactical cloud packages and overall system integration.

"If six or nine more months gives us a really good, much better display quality," then the delay was worth it, Potts said.

"Nobody remembers how long it took them to get the Apache to the field," Potts added. "All they know is it's the greatest attack helicopter in the world."

For now, the work being done is based on feedback from various members of the Army'sNight Vision Labs and Microsoft, as well as extensive modeling and simulations to find fixes, according to Potts.

"This is ... responsible program management," Potts said. "We don't want to go ahead and produce those systems yet. We need to make the modifications we need to clean up the display and reliability."

The first user jury is planned between January and February, which will help determine if the fixes worked.

"Modeling and simulation say this is going to work but we're going to be responsible for taxpayer dollars," Potts said.

He added that senior leaders all the way to the Army secretary were supportive of working out the kinks in the display before pushing production. If the simulation fixes don't work, Potts said they will have more decision points.

They've backed down the field-of-view to what is likely to be about 70 degrees. And the original 80-degree target? It's probably not necessary, Potts said.

That's because the goggle has to be designed with baffles, a blocker that prevents light leakage so adversaries won't spot that all-too-familiar goggle glow on the face of the user.

They found in evaluations that the baffles limited the field-of-view to about 70 degrees already, Potts said.

Even with the display glitches, soldiers have been using IVAS in evaluations and ripping through land navigation courses in record time, according to Potts.

Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.

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'Mixed reality' goggle program is trying to fix a field-of-view problem

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The Army has slightly delayed a portion of work being done on its futuristic " mixed reality " goggles to improve consistency across devices, moisture control and improved range of view, according to officials involved in the program. The Integrated Visual Augmentation System, or IVAS, was scheduled for an operational test this fall, but that has been pushed to May 2022.

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Trevithick,Joseph(2021,october,13) Army Halts Widely-Hyped Multi-Billion Dollar Advanced Augmented Reality Goggle Program (Updated),https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/42739/army-halts-widely-hyped-multi-billion-dollar-advanced-augmented-reality-goggle-program

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However, it is IVAS' augmented reality functions that were expected to be truly revolutionary for soldiers, as you can read more about in detail here. The headsets can provide a wealth of information to individual troops, such as waypoints and other navigation symbology, much in the same way helmet-mounted displays do for pilots flying many types of modern combat aircraft.

In addition, the networked systems can pipe in video feeds and other sensor data from various offboard sources. Different sensor feeds could then be fused together to provide a higher fidelity view of the battlespace. Soldiers in a single unit would be able to share what they see directly with each other, as well as with other individuals further afield.

Artificial intelligence-driven software might also be able to help automatically detect and identify potential threats. Prototype versions of IVAS reportedly already had some facial recognition capability.

The IVAS headsets were also set to provide valuable training capabilities, including the ability to help simulate a diverse array of threats virtually during live exercises. This, in turn, would give even relatively small facilities the option to conduct more realistic and expansive drills without any additional resources.

However, early prototype IVAS systems were simply not rugged enough for operational use, with one iteration notably unable to work in the rain. The Army has conducted more rigorous testing of the latest version, with what it had indicated were positive results. Soldiers have also experimented with using IVAS headsets within vehicles and during airmobile operations.

Questions have also been raised about the conformal batteries that soldiers need to carry in their gear to power the IVAS headsets, both in regard to how long they can keep the systems running and safety concerns about what might happen if they get shot or otherwise damaged in combat. The Army has said in the past that it has made progress on improving the capabilities of the batteries and their resistance to incoming fire.

It is certainly possible that, despite progress in these areas, the Army has still determined that IVAS is not actually ready for widespread fielding just yet. At the same time, the problems that at least temporarily have led the service to halt the project may also be completely unrelated to any of these previously known issues.

It is also worth pointing that employees at Microsoft have protested the company's development of a version of HoloLens for the U.S. military in the past. However, there is no indication, one way or another, that this has been a factor in the recent pause in the IVAS program.

In addition, it's interesting to note that the Army is already fielding Enhanced Night Vision Goggle-Binoculars (ENVG-B), which it says offer advanced night vision, thermal imaging, and networked sensor fusion capabilities. The service has also indicated in the past that it wants to add more robust augmented reality features to the ENVG-B. You can read more about those goggles here.

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Army Halts Widely-Hyped Multi-Billion Dollar Advanced Augmented Reality Goggle Program (Updated)

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However, it is IVAS' augmented reality functions that were expected to be truly revolutionary for soldiers, as you can read more about in detail here. The headsets can provide a wealth of information to individual troops, such as waypoints and other navigation symbology, much in the same way helmet-mounted displays do for pilots flying many types of modern combat aircraft.

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By U.S. Army DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory Public Affairs(2021,June 3 Army leverages virtual reality to understand network influencehttps://www.army.mil/article/247165/army_leverages_virtual_reality_to_understand_network_infl

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Army leverages virtual reality to understand network influence

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The Army funds scientists at Kent State University

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Maucione,Scott(2021,October 15)Army delays $22B augmented reality goggle program,https://federalnewsnetwork.com/defense-main/2021/10/army-delays-22-billion-augmented-reality-goggle-program/#:~:text=The%20Army%20is%20delaying%20its,field%20the%20goggles%20this%20fall.

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The Army is delaying its $22 billion program with Microsoft aimed at giving soldiers goggles that provide them with augmented reality and real-time data.

The Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) is being pushed back by a full year, after expecting to field the goggles this fall. The Army's Program Executive Office - Soldier announced in a Thursday press release that it will now plan to field the capability by fall of next year.

"The Army is fully committed to its partnership with Microsoft to advance specific technologies to meet operational requirements and maximize warfighter impact," the release states. "The Army conducted an adversarial electronic warfare and cybersecurity test in September 2021, and plans to execute testing regularly throughout 2022. This decision allows the Army and industry team to continue to enhance the IVAS technology platform ensuring soldiers achieve overmatch in multi domain operations."

The IVAS program is already under the scrutiny of government watchdogs. The Defense Department's Inspector General announced it was launching an investigation into the program on Oct. 4.

"The objective of this audit is to determine whether Army officials are producing and fielding IVAS units that meet capability requirements and user needs," the DoD IG's memo states. "We may revise the objective as the audit proceeds, and we will also consider suggestions from management for additional or revised objectives."

Congress also has some concerns about the program. The 2021 defense authorization bill reduced the amount of funding requested by the Army for IVAS by about a quarter of a billion dollars. The Army asked Congress for more than $1.1 billion in 2021. The NDAA knocked that down to about $900 million.

The bill also asked the Army to deliver a report outlining the IVAS acquisition strategy, unit cost and production schedule. They also asked the director of operational test and evaluation to evaluate the program.

"Due to the large quantity of hardware, software, and funds allocated for the program, as well as an aggressive development schedule, the committee expects the Army to utilize this technology in developing any new heads-up displays for air and ground vehicles," the Armed Services Committees wrote in their report explaining why they wanted information on the program.

This is the second major program delay announced by the Army this month. The service is also slowing down its Integrated Pay and Personnel System - Army by nine months.

The IVAS program is supposed to revolutionize the way soldiers can operate in the field and pair soldiers with much of the work the DoD is doing to incorporate data into its weapons systems.

"The IVAS prototype heads up display packs a variety of impressive capabilities into one package. Night vision and thermal scope settings are both available at the press of a button," an Army release states. "Soldiers can share topographical imagery or 3D maps of an objective at any time, whether rehearsing or in the field. A soldier can pair the IVAS to a weapon, enabling the weapon to be aimed using a reticle projected into their field of vision rather than holding it at the shoulder and peering through the scope. All members of a platoon can know where all of their teammates are at a given time, no matter how dark or dense the surrounding terrain."

The Army has been using Microsoft's HoloLens technology paired with a variety of sensors to create the goggles. According to Microsoft, by February 2021, the company had collected almost 80,000 hours of soldiers feedback over four rounds of testing prototypes.

That input helped Microsoft tweak the goggles for better features.

"Early prototypes included a HoloLens headset that engineers had affixed cameras to, goggles with weights attached, and various 3D-printed devices," a Microsoft press release from earlier this year states. "The devices met the Army's requirements of rugged, waterproof and shockproof. But no one had considered, for example, that the headsets needed to allow users to brace a rifle against a cheek."

Microsoft did not provide a comment by the time of publication.

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Army delays $22B augmented reality goggle program | Federal News Network

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The Army is delaying its $22 billion program with Microsoft aimed at giving soldiers goggles that provide them with augmented reality and real-time data. The Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) is being pushed back by a full year, after expecting to field the goggles this fall.