Microsoft's HoloLens headsets are giving US Army testers nausea

engadget ^

[BenLurkin]

ntegrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) iteration is creating problems for soldiers in tests. Some testers suffered nausea, headaches and eyestrain while using the augmented reality goggles. Others were concerned about bulk, a limited field of view and a display glow that could reveal a soldier's position even at long distances.

The Defense Department's Operational Test and Evaluation Director, Nickolas Guertin, also said there were still too many failures for essential features. Soldier acceptance is still low, according to the report.

The tests are part of a "Soldier Touch Point" program that helps the Army collect real-world feedback and help Microsoft refine the customized HoloLens gear. Ideally, the headsets will provide crucial battlefield information and night vision to infantry.

General Christopher Schneider said IVAS was successful in "most" criteria, but that there were areas where it "fell short" and would receive improvements. Army assistant acquisition secretary Doug Bush cleared the acceptance of an initial batch of 5,000 HoloLens units in August, but that the armed forces branch was modifying its plans to "correct deficiencies."

Microsoft told Bloomberg it still saw IVAS as a "transformational platform" and was moving ahead with delivery for the initial headset

[Still Thinking]

I have that reaction to Microsoft too.

[ClearCase_guy]

"transformational platform"

Translation: "We can't possibly use this damn thing. We're hoping for better luck next time."

[NorthMountain]

And this is why we do real-world field testing.

[Blueflag]

This is a known outcome of what gamers call lag or latency.

When the virtual world lags more than 5 ms behind the real world, users WILL get nauseous.

This is to be expected until network and application server supporting the end user is fast enough.

[Theoria]

Meta. US so far ahead, we are behind.

[ThePatriotsFlag]

Visual headset doing games makes me seasick.