The US Army's new goggles let soldiers see right through walls

THE US ARMY IS DEVELOPING INTEGRATED Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) goggles for close-combat forces, including mounted and dismounted troops, particularly infantry. The goggles can help soldiers see in the dark, check around corners, and even project digital maps and other data on to the lenses.

- KYLE MIZOKAMI

Because these goggles access feeds from the omnidirectional cameras mounted on the outside of armoured vehicles, a squad of six soldiers, nestled safely in the back of a Bradley or Stryker infantry vehicle, can 'see' through the walls of the vehicle, getting a clear picture of the scene.

'Now guys aren't hanging out of vehicles in dangerous situations trying to get views on what's going on,' Sgt Philip Bartel of the 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team said in an interview. 'Leadership will be able to manoeuvre their elements and get view-on-target without having to leave the safety of their armoured vehicles. Manoeuvring elements with that kind of information will minimise casualties and will overall drastically change how we operate and increase our effectiveness on the battlefield.'

The US Army designed the IVAS goggles to mimic the head-up displays (HUD) on fighter jets. Like an HUD, the goggles project information including maps, video, and night vision across the soldier's field of view. Soldiers have long had that sort of data at their disposal, but IVAS gives them instant access during combat. Instead of digging through their pockets for a laminated paper map, soldiers can quickly call up a digital map on their goggles without taking their eyes away from the objective.