I saw recently that Magic Leap is great but severely limited by its narrow field of view, so combat training seems like a surprising use. I'd assume that the military are hoping for improvements, were it not that the thing seems to have been in development with crazy funding levels for ages already.
Originally shared by Eli Fennell
Magic Leap's Next Frontier: Combat Enhancement Gear?
Magic Leap's mixed reality headset products, while not without their fans and admirers, are as yet just one entry in a product category that remains promising but not mainstream. A frontrunner, perhaps, but one with little to show.
They may, however, have finally found a customer with a need for their product and an endless wallet to finance its purchase: the United States Army. The startup is considered the prohibitive favorite to win a contract for military headsets to “increase lethality by enhancing the ability to detect, decide and engage before the enemy". These headsets would be used for both training and real combat purposes by soldiers.
In fact, there's every reason to think the contract was basically designed for Magic Leap, and the solicitation of other entries is more-or-less perfunctory, since rivals will have little time to develop a system suspiciously similar to the very system Magic Leap has been working on for a while, and the company has established connections within the military to bolster the theory.
Given the current climate surrounding military contracts in the world of technology startups, this is sure to rankle some feathers within and outside the company, and thus this project may face many hurdles to overcome. The risk may be worth it, though, given its potential to lead to over 100,000 headset sales worth upwards of over half a billion dollars.
#AR #MagicLeap #MixedReality
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-21/magic-leap-is-bidding-on-an-army-combat-contract
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