Ventus Respiratory Technologies recently tested Apple’s Vision Pro headset on a shooting range, exploring its potential for military applications and soldier system integrations. Integrating their TR2 tactical respirator, ear pro, helmet, and comms, they evaluated the headset’s capabilities in “shoot, move, communicate” scenarios on a static range.
Key Takeaways:
• Intuitive Interface: The headset is remarkably user-friendly, even without prior experience.
• Comfort & Integration: The Vision Pro’s design is comfortable for extended wear and integrates seamlessly with existing tactical gear.
• Immersive AR & Passthrough Video: The augmented reality overlays and real-time video feed provide a unique perspective for training and operations.
• Hands-Free Control: The hand-eye control interface allows soldiers to maintain focus on their weapons and surroundings.
• Endless Potential: Ventus envisions a wide range of applications, including mission planning, battlefield management, and telemedicine/tele-training.
Immediate Applications:
• Live Shooting Scenarios: AR overlays can augment dynamic training environments with key information such as distances, wind, hit-no-hit, and speed of moving targets.
• Performance Analysis: The headset can track and analyze shooting techniques in real-time, offering instant feedback for improvement as well as offering tele-training capabilities
• Soldier Health Monitoring: Biometric sensors and telemedicine capabilities could monitor soldier health in the field.
While the Vision Pro shows promise, Ventus notes that further iterations are needed to address specific military requirements like RF signature management, battery life, and ruggedness. The potential for this technology to revolutionize soldier training and operations is undeniable, with the Apple Vision Pro being similar toan off-the-shelf IVAS system.
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Ventus Respiratory Technologies is a veteran-led innovation company specializing in respiratory protection solutions. It is known for developing cutting-edge technology designed for demanding environments and professions where respiratory hazards are a concern.
The TR2 is Ventus’ flagship product. The TR2 is a tactical respirator designed for military, law enforcement, and other first responders. It offers a lightweight, low-profile design that doesn’t hinder movement or communication while providing effective protection against airborne threats like dust, breaching debris, toxic particulates, and specific chemical hazards.
looks like a scuba mask…..
With how much further developed microdisplays for VR are than AR, if you could ever possibly have soldiers tolerate the human factors, it’s a lot easier to pull off very high resolution and FOV than an AR display.
That’s a lot of straps for all those separate platforms. Better option would be to take a gas mask and integrate the goggles into that. Gives you better overall protection and allows a more unified and comfortable wearable system.
Why? The AVP is a video pass through device with 11ms display lag. That’s unsafe on itself. The cheek weld in the pictures isn’t a natural one. Seems similar to a cheek weld using the Quest 3. The IVAS device is a see-through device, derived from HoloLens 3. The AVP cameras get dirty, and it’s game over. The AVP as well as the Quest 3 make absolutely no sense as a training or tactical AR device.