The US army on Thursday said it was pushing back the date when it plans to field augmented reality glasses from Microsoft Corp, but that it remains "fully committed" to the contract with the tech firm worth up to $21.9 billion.
The army said it expects the first units to be equipped with the glasses, called the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS), by September 2022. Army officials had previously said they intended to "rapidly field the capability" in the army's fiscal year 2021, which ended on September 30.
Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Defence industry publication Janes earlier this week reported that the army planned to halt the program. But on Thursday, the army said it had conducted some testing of the system last month and that it "plans to execute testing regularly throughout" its fiscal 2022.
The Pentagon's inspector general initiated an audit of the IVAS system on October 4 "to determine whether army officials are producing and fielding Integrated Visual Augmentation System units that meet capability requirements and user needs," it said.
The system integrates multiple technologies like night and thermal vision as well as augmented reality from sensors to provide a heads-up display that allows the soldier to fight, rehearse and train.
The army said this improves situational awareness, target engagement and the informed decision-making necessary in a fight.
Brief scores:
Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first
Pakhtoons 137-6 (10 ov)
Fletcher 68 not out; Cutting 2-14
Sindhis 129-8 (10 ov)
Perera 47; Sohail 2-18
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The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
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AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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Name: Mamo Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua Based: Dubai, UAE Number of employees: 28 Sector: Financial services Investment: $9.5m Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
