Kalakshar US

Microsoft is taking another turn at testing its HoloLens-based combat goggles with the US military. The company has confirmed to Engadget that it’s delivering improved IVAS (Integrated Visual Augmentation System) 1.2 devices to the Army before the end of July. These updated augmented reality models are “slimmer, lighter and more balanced” than before, Microsoft says. That, in turn, should make them more comfortable and improve soldiers’ performance.

The Army tellsBloomberg two squads will test 20 prototype IVAS goggles in late August. They’ll gauge low-light functionality, reliability and whether or not they make soldiers feel ill. Some testers complained last year of nausea, headaches and eye strain, while others weren’t happy with the bulk, narrow field of view and a display glow that could give away a soldier’s presence at night. Key features also failed relatively frequently.

The HoloLens tech is meant to improve battlefield awareness. Infantry can see each other’s positions, get vital health stats and use night vision that’s less conspicuous. They can better coordinate assaults and warn if there are signs of injury or fatigue. The technology might reach the field within a few years if the August test is successful. The Army would award a contract between July and September 2024 for a second field study, and could move to an operational combat test as soon as April 2025. The Army could deploy IVAS months afterward.

Much is riding on this test, however. While the Army could spend as much as $21.9 billion in ten years for up to 121,000 IVAS units, Congress blocked further orders of the earlier goggles in January following reports of problems. Politicians instead gave Microsoft $40 million to rework the hardware. If there are still issues, the Army could cancel the program. It would not only cost Microsoft a lucrative contract, but would cast further doubt on HoloLens itself. The team lost lead developer Alex Kipman last year following misconduct allegations, and layoffs early this year dealt a serious blow to the mixed reality division.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-will-deliver-improved-hololens-combat-goggles-to-army-testers-this-month-211521914.html?src=rss 

Blizzard is bringing some of its PC games to Steam for the first time. The company announced today that the transition will start with Overwatch 2 on August 10th, but did not go into detail as to what other titles may be coming to the platform.

President of Blizzard Mike Ybarra said in a press release that Battle.net will remain a priority for them but that “we’ve heard players want the choice of Steam for a selection of our games.” The company wants to remind users that while Overwatch 2 will be available on Steam, it still requires that you have a Battle.net account in order to play the game and access features such as cross-platform play. Players will also have access to their Steam friends list and will be able to invite friends on Steam. Blizzard did not announce Steam Deck support, though that won’t stop players from trying to get the game running on it.

Along with Steam support, Overwatch 2 is getting a big update on the same day. Players can expect PvE missions, a new PvP mode and a new hero. Blizzard calls it Overwatch 2: Invasion and says that it will be “a great opportunity for new players.”

Blizzard hasn’t announced what or when other titles will be coming to Steam, noting that it will be sharing that information “when the time is right.” Those eager to download the game on Steam can add it to their wishlist now and you’ll be notified when the game comes out on August 10th.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/blizzard-is-bringing-overwatch-2-to-steam-on-august-10th-192520735.html?src=rss 

Throughout the burgeoning “AI wars”, Apple has remained suspiciously silent, until now. The company is creating its very own chatbot, as originally reported by Bloomberg. Engineers have cheekily named the toolset “AppleGPT,” but it’s actually called Ajax, as the large language model (LLM) was built using Google’s JAX framework. Sources indicate that Apple has multiple teams working on the project, with one team devoted to addressing potential privacy concerns.

What will Apple actually do with the bot? That remains unclear as the company doesn’t seem to have any solid plans regarding use case scenarios, launch dates or platforms. An unnamed source told Bloomberg to expect an official announcement, along with more details, next year. Apple also holds its annual earnings call next month, which could shed some light on Ajax. 

This move comes after Apple CEO Tim Cook told Good Morning America that the generative AI is something the company is “looking at closely.” According to Bloomberg, John Giannandrea and Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi, are leading the initiative. Giannandrea was originally hired to oversee Siri and its machine learning capabilities, so maybe the beleaguered digital assistant is about to get a whole lot more useful.

The generative AI space has exploded in recent months, with just about every big tech company joining the hype train. Just yesterday, Meta and Microsoft released Llama 2, an AI chatbot intended for commercial use.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-is-reportedly-developing-its-own-generative-ai-chatbot-to-rival-chatgpt-174507671.html?src=rss