Microsoft HoloLens is arming the soldier of the future – but not in the way you might think

• Microsoft's military HoloLens project wasn't a total waste after all
• The US Air Force has found new use for the headsets in loading and balancing aircraft
• The VR headset can provide visual cues to indicate unsecure cargo

Microsoft offered its HoloLens goggles to the US Army back in 2018 as a battlefield heads-up display to enhance situational awareness.

While the kit was capable of offering navigational data, building layouts, and fields of fire to soldiers - users complained of suffering from headaches, nausea, and eye-strain during testing.

While Microsoft has since handed the project over to Anduril, some HoloLens headsets have found a new lease of life helping the US Air Force load aircraft.

Balancing an aircraft from behind a desk

Outside of the glamour of the Air Force that films like Top Gun aim to portray, much of the Air Force’s job is logistics - and that means loading and unloading aircraft across the globe. In the words of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, “You will not find it difficult to prove that battles, campaigns, and even wars have been won or lost primarily because of logistics.”

Now, loading an aircraft is one thing, but balancing it is another. An unbalanced load can throw off all the regular flight characteristics a pilot would expect from an aircraft they have flown for thousands of hours before - with deadly outcomes. The problem is, the airmen with the skills and knowledge required to properly balance an aircraft can’t be on every airbase at all times.

To solve this, the Air Force and Army teamed up to use the HoloLens VR goggles to turn any enlisted man into a qualified aircraft loading expert from anywhere in the world - all they need is a HoloLens, a laptop, and a Wi-Fi connection.

The development and practical application of this new augmented reality is being used by the 724th Air Mobility Squadron, based in Aviano, Italy, who have been assisting the Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade, based in Vicenza, Italy, in the safe loading and balancing of aircraft.

725th Air Mobility Squadron superintendent, Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Sewejkis explained that a year was spent working with Microsoft to iron out the wrinkles in the software. “Now it's plug and play. We can connect [from] anywhere just using the HoloLens, a Wi-Fi hotspot and a laptop,” Sewejkis explained.

A qualified airman can now sit behind a laptop anywhere in the world and see through the eyes of the person loading the plane, pointing out any irregularities in how cargo is secured or balanced in real time with visual cues through the headset.

While the headsets may not do much to help the external reputation of the much beloved Chair Force, the 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing, parent of 724, stated that the technology helps to “increase the speed of maneuver to sustain joint force lethality across the competition continuum.”

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