Introduction to the Partnership
Meta Platforms Inc. and Anduril Industries Inc., a defense technology startup, have announced a brand new partnership to develop wearable devices for the U.S. military. Anduril, which received a $14 billion valuation in its most up-to-date funding round last yr, develops aircraft, subsea sensors, and other hardware systems for the defense sector, in addition to artificial intelligence software to power that equipment.
About Anduril Industries
Anduril is led by Chief Executive Officer Palmer Luckey, who previously founded an early virtual reality startup called Oculus Labs Inc. Oculus Labs was acquired by Meta, then Facebook Inc., for $2 billion in 2014, forming the premise of the Reality Labs business unit that develops Meta’s Quest mixed reality headsets. Reality Labs will take part in the brand new partnership with Anduril.
The EagleEye Project
The plan is to develop a line of wearables called EagleEye, which is able to include rugged helmets, glasses, and other devices. These systems are expected to offer virtual reality and mixed reality features, enhancing the wearer’s hearing and vision. The devices within the EagleEye series are also intended to offer users with the power to remotely control autonomous systems.
Technology Behind EagleEye
EagleEye will utilize algorithms from Meta’s Llama family of open-source language models. Most of those models are designed to run on data center servers, but there are also smaller neural networks, corresponding to the billion-parameter Llama-3.2-1B, that may run on resource-constrained devices like virtual reality headsets. Additionally, EagleEye will incorporate Lattice, an operating system that Anduril ships with its products, providing users with access to data collected by defense systems. Lattice can collect information from 1000’s of sources.
Lattice Operating System
The Lattice operating system is powered by a networking engine called Lattice Mesh, which allows devices to exchange data with each other over encrypted connections. In situations where bandwidth is restricted, Lattice Mesh robotically prioritizes a very powerful traffic, ensuring that critical information is all the time transmitted.
Quotes and Future Plans
Meta Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth stated, “The world is entering a brand new era of computing that may give people access to limitless intelligence and extend their senses and perception in ways in which have never been possible before. Our national security advantages enormously from American industry bringing these technologies to life.” Meta and Anduril have reportedly placed a joint bid for a $100 million virtual reality device contract issued by the U.S. Army, a part of a broader technology procurement program that may very well be price as much as $22 billion.
Conclusion
The partnership between Meta and Anduril Industries marks a major step forward in the event of wearable technology for the U.S. military. With the EagleEye project, the businesses aim to create devices that may enhance the capabilities of military personnel, providing them with advanced virtual reality, mixed reality, and autonomous system control features. As technology continues to evolve, it’s going to be exciting to see how this partnership contributes to the long run of military technology and beyond.
