Varjo was Selected as the Headset Technology Provider for Mixed Reality Military Training Project Varjo will provide head-mounted display (HMD) technology for the U.S. Army’s RVCT Air Program.

Varjo, the global leader in professional-grade VR/XR hardware and software, announced it had been selected to provide head-mounted display (HMD) technology for the U.S. Army’s Reconfigurable Virtual Collective Trainer (RVCT) Air Program. The Air program is centered around giving a portable training capability for three different Helicopters, Apache, Chinook & Blackhawk. It is part of the U.S. Army’s efforts to create a synthetic training environment (STE) that can be utilized regardless of location.

RVCT is an adaptable hardware system that connects to the STE to activate collective, mixed-reality training scenarios. The RVCT will now include a particular variant of Varjo XR-3 Focal Edition headsets that will enable squads to navigate exercises using actual and computer-generated movements.

With the enhanced Varjo XR-3 Focal Edition capabilities, U.S. Army pilots will leverage Varjo’s human-eye resolution displays augmented with video pass-through technology to experience a fully immersive training environment where they can interact with physical controls in real time. The headset has advanced video pass-through capabilities, performs well in dark and light backgrounds, allows for deep immersion for long periods, and can simulate night-flying scenarios. RVCT also leverages Varjo’s high-security offering as the headsets are Finland-manufactured TAA-certified products and do not have radio frequency.

“We’re proud to work with the U.S. Army in creating the world’s first video pass-through mixed reality-based air training in this quality and scale,” said Seppo Aaltonen, Chief Commercial Officer of Varjo. “Mixed reality technologies can lower overall defense training costs, increase training flexibility, and improve adaptability to any operational environment.”

Varjo will work closely with the integrator partner Cole Engineering to further improve the core technologies and implement solutions into mission rehearsal.

“We’re thrilled to work with Varjo to scale the level of training immersion based on specific user needs and requirements without impacting the hardware design of the training systems,” said Eric Carr, Program Director at Cole Engineering Services Inc.