Meta is bidding to build high-tech wearables for the US Army, as reported by Wall Street Journal. The company is teaming up with Palmer Luckey's defense firm Anduril Industries on the project, which has been dubbed EagleEye. The contract is worth around $100 million, though it hasn't been awarded yet. It's part of a larger $22 billion Army wearables project of which Anduril is the lead vendor.
As expected from Meta and Luckey, EagleEye will be a line of tech-forward helmets, glasses and other wearables that provide an augmented reality or virtual reality experience. Reporting indicates that these devices will include sensors that enhance the hearing and vision of soldiers. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement that this tech will “protect our interests at home and abroad.”
Anduril and Meta have teamed up to make the world's best AR and VR systems for the United States Military.
— Palmer Luckey (@PalmerLuckey) May 29, 2025
Leveraging Meta's massive investments in XR technology for our troops will save countless lives and dollars. pic.twitter.com/t9d2vRInSe
This could be used to detect drones flying miles away, for instance, or to suss out hidden targets. It'll also allow these soldiers to interact with AI-powered weapon systems, as Anduril's autonomy software and Meta's AI models will underpin each device. This all sounds very dystopian, but such are the times we find ourselves in.
“I have successfully persuaded not just Meta but many others that working with the military is important," Palmer Luckey said in an interview, speaking on Big Tech's embrace of defense contract work. He's become a big player in the defense space in recent years, securing $6 billion in global government contracts and partnering up with many of the tech world's major players.
"I've always said that we need to transition from being the world police to being the world gun store," he said in a recent interview with CBS News. Luckey is a long-time supporter of President Trump and recently said that Anduril "did well under Trump in his first administration" and that he thinks the company is "going to do even better now."
This is something of a homecoming for Luckey. He co-founded Oculus VR, which Meta purchased. He was fired back in 2017 after news broke that he donated $10,000 to a group trying to install 4chan-style anti-Hillary Clinton memes on roadside billboards. Zuckerberg has since cozied up to Trump in various ways, so I guess the two can be friends again or whatever. “I finally got all my toys back,” Luckey told WSJ.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/meta-could-soon-start-building-tech-for-the-us-army-184405058.html?src=rss https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/meta-could-soon-start-building-tech-for-the-us-army-184405058.html?src=rssZaloguj się, aby dodać komentarz
Inne posty w tej grupie


You forget how much of a hit, how much of a turnaround, the Nintendo Switch turned out to be. After the major wobble (and baffling form factor) of the Wii U, Nintendo came back with a hybrid consol

It's been a busy week! In this episode, Devindra and Senior Editor Jessica Conditt dive into their final thoughts on the Switch 2, as well as Jess's time covering Summer Game Fest. We also put a bo


Robot vacuums can save you a ton of time by automating a regular chore you'd otherwise have to do manually. But you may sometimes want a handheld or cordless vacuum to quickly clean up small messes

Meta has finalized its $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI, which now values the startup that provides other companies with data labeling and model evaluation services for AI training at $29 billi

Reddit is making it easier to gauge the impact your comments are having. The company is introducing detailed analytics for comments that measure views and other engagement metrics. Reddit shared th