Microsoft Has a $22 Billion Case for Combat-Ready AR
Consumer applications for augmented reality, like gaming and the metaverse aren’t making money, but military contracts are highly lucrative.
An upper hand?
Photographer: Gerard Julien/AFP/Getty Images
For more than a decade, technology pioneers have toiled away making virtual reality headsets in the hope that one day there’ll be a compelling and profitable need for these devices. There isn’t. That’s unless you’re the US military and believe soldiers in the field will be more effective, and safer, when equipped with head-worn gadgetry.
Oculus, founded by an 18-year-old called Palmer Luckey, was an earlier VR leader, followed shortly after by smartphone maker HTC Corp. They envisioned selling headsets to consumers who would sit at home playing more immersive games, or simply watching whales swim by. Sony Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. were also eager to be part of what they hoped would be a boom to rival the smartphone era.