{"id":835849,"date":"2025-03-22T04:12:20","date_gmt":"2025-03-22T09:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/22\/military-vehicles-to-get-mixed-reality-windshields-controlled-by-human-eyes\/"},"modified":"2025-03-22T04:12:20","modified_gmt":"2025-03-22T09:12:20","slug":"military-vehicles-to-get-mixed-reality-windshields-controlled-by-human-eyes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/22\/military-vehicles-to-get-mixed-reality-windshields-controlled-by-human-eyes\/","title":{"rendered":"Military vehicles to get mixed reality windshields controlled by human eyes"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Finnish startup Distance Technologies emerged from stealth last year with a technology it claims can turn any transparent surface into a mixed reality (MR) display. Now, it has teamed up with Patria to trial the tech on the defence firm\u2019s armoured vehicles.<\/span><\/p>\n

The partners will jointly develop a heads-up display for Patria\u2019s six-wheel drive <\/span>armoured personnel carrier. <\/span>The system will display 3D tactical data, terrain mapping, and AI-driven military insights directly onto the windshield,<\/span> allowing military personnel to see in low-visibility environments like darkness and smoke.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The MR technology promises to eliminate the need for additional screens or clunky headsets. The display also remains covert, preventing light leakage that could reveal vehicle positions, Distance said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Urho Konttori, the startup\u2019s CEO and co-founder, claims it will give drivers \u201csuper sensing abilities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCreating XR heads-up displays that visualise mission-critical information on the windshield offers unprecedented speed, confidence, and decision-making ability on the battlefields of the future,\u201d said Konttori, the former CTO of Varjo, another Helsinki-based XR startup.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unlike standard heads-up displays in cars, which project static or pre-determined information onto the windshield, Distance\u2019s technology tracks the user\u2019s eye movements and then displays the correct light field to match where they are looking.<\/span><\/p>\n

The \u201cbrain\u201d behind the system is so-called contextual AI, <\/span>a type of artificial intelligence<\/a> that understands and reacts based on its situation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Distance can add its light field optics on top of most LCDs. When users look through the screen, they see a <\/span>computer-generated 3D light field mixed in with the real world.<\/span> This means <\/span>virtually any transparent surface can transform into an MR window \u2014 whether that\u2019s the windshield of a car, an F-18 fighter jet, or a 6\u00d76 armoured vehicle.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"An
An early prototype of the MR windshield. Distance said the final version delivered Patria will be of significantly higher quality. Credit: Distance Technology Oy and Patria<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Distance<\/span> claims the system is capable of \u201cinfinite\u201d pixel depth, which means it should <\/span>be indistinguishable from natural sight. <\/span>Konttori no doubt drew inspiration from his work at Varjo, which in 2023 unveiled the world\u2019s first <\/span>retina-resolution XR headset<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The MR model for Distance<\/h2>\n

Konttori left Varjo early last year.<\/span> \u201cI\u2019ve started increasingly feeling that it\u2019s time for me to move on,\u201d he said in a LinkedIn post at the time. \u201cI\u2019m leaving Varjo and starting something new. Not anything Varjo does\u2026 but pretty mind-blowing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Distance is that new venture. The company indeed takes a very different approach from <\/span>his former employer<\/span> While Varjo develops headsets with lenses, Distance offers glasses-free XR tech to the automotive, aerospace, and defence markets.<\/span><\/p>\n

In July last year, the startup emerged from stealth with a $2.7mn pre-seed investment. Three months later, it raised $11.1mn<\/a> in a round led by Google<\/a> Ventures. Now the company is looking to test its tech<\/a> in the real world.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Distance\u2019s collaboration with Patria is part of the defence firm\u2019s government-funded eALLIANCE program, which seeks to support Finnish civil and defence tech companies.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The partnership comes as Europe rushes to increase defence spending amid cooling relations with the US. Just yesterday, Germany <\/span>voted<\/span><\/a> to create a massive <\/span>\u20ac500bn ($545bn) fund for defence and infrastructure.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Si\u00f4n Geschwindt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Finnish startup Distance Technologies emerged from stealth last year with a technology it claims can turn any transparent surface into a mixed reality (MR) display. Now, it has teamed up with Patria to trial the tech on the defence firm\u2019s armoured vehicles. The partners will jointly develop a heads-up display for Patria\u2019s six-wheel drive armoured<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":835850,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,46,27785],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-835849","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-military","8":"category-technology","9":"category-vehicles"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=835849"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835849\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/835850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=835849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=835849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=835849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}