On Thursday, the U.S. technology company Meta and Anduril announced that they will collaborate to develop extended reality (XR) military technology to create high-tech helmets for the U.S. military, providing combat personnel with virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) experiences.
In a statement released on May 29th, the U.S. defense technology company Anduril said that they will work with Meta to jointly “design, manufacture, and deploy a series of integrated XR products to provide combat personnel with enhanced perceptual capabilities and achieve intuitive control of autonomous platforms on the battlefield.”
Palmer Luckey founded the defense technology company Anduril in 2017. Based in California, this startup is dedicated to developing AI-driven autonomous systems, including drones and surveillance technology, for target identification and battlefield applications.
Luckey is also a co-founder of the virtual reality (VR) technology company Oculus. Meta (formerly Facebook) acquired Oculus in 2014 and ended its collaboration with Luckey in 2017.
For Meta, this collaboration with Anduril marks a significant expansion of this tech giant’s support for the U.S. government in cutting-edge technology fields.
Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Meta, stated, “Over the past decade, Meta has been focused on developing AI and AR technologies to build the future digital platform. We are honored to work with Anduril to bring these technologies to U.S. military personnel who protect our country’s interests at home and abroad.”
Meta’s Chief Technology Officer, Andrew Bosworth, commented, “The world is entering a new digital era, enabling people to access infinite wisdom and expand perceptual capabilities in unprecedented ways. Turning these technologies into reality benefits our national security.”
According to The Wall Street Journal, the EagleEye helmet system will be equipped with sensors to enhance soldiers’ hearing and vision, detecting unmanned aerial vehicles miles away or identifying hidden targets. Additionally, the equipment allows soldiers to interact with systems operating AI weaponry.
Anduril’s autonomous software and Meta’s AI models will support these devices.
Meta and Anduril have jointly bid on a U.S. military virtual reality hardware equipment contract worth up to approximately $100 million. If awarded, this would be Meta’s most significant cooperation project with the U.S. Department of Defense.