Originally published Three Key Considerations for Choosing a “Heads-Up” HMD for the Warfighter on by https://modernbattlespace.com/2025/07/17/three-key-considerations-for-choosing-a-heads-up-hmd-for-the-warfighter/ at Modern Battlespace
Recognizing that future battles will be won by the military with the best, most accurate, timely, and actionable data, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has invested heavily in sensor technologies and connected devices. These devices have been designed to provide decision-makers and warfighters with comprehensive and complete situational awareness, ensuring they have the information they need to make informed decisions in the field.
For years, that sensor data has been readily available for the warfighter. To access it, all they have to do is look down, where a mobile device is likely mounted to the front of their plate carrier for easy, hands-free access and reference.
This system has been in use for more than a decade. In fact, it’s difficult to imagine a Soldier deploying without having a smartphone or other mobile device mounted to their kit in one location or another.
While this system has been effective enough to continue to be utilized since the late 2010s, the DoD realized that mounting mobile devices to the chest of a warfighter comes with some issues. It takes their attention and their gaze away from the battlefield, leaving them vulnerable to attack. It also forces them to translate what they’re seeing on a screen to what is happening in the real world all around them.
This led the U.S. Army to begin evaluating alternatives that could deliver sensor data and important situational awareness information to Soldiers in the field without splitting their focus or attention.
Aviation best practices for the dismounted Soldier
Today’s fighter pilots see the airspace around their plane through the lens of a helmet-mounted display (HMD). This HMD system projects 360-degree views around the aircraft, making the aircraft seemingly disappear around the pilot and enabling them to have full situational awareness of their environment.
Seeing the promise of this technology for other domains in 2018, the U.S. Army began developing a similar capability for the dismounted warfighter. The first attempts to develop a “heads-up” display for the warfighter involved an augmented reality (AR) solution capable of displaying ATAK and other situational awareness and sensor data directly into a Soldier’s field of vision.
The benefits of a “heads-up” display solution like this over having a mobile device mounted to the plate carrier or other part of the kit are significant.
With the data displayed in the field of vision, the Soldier no longer needs to split their focus, vision, and attention away from the battlefield to access the data they need. Also, that data can be displayed in a more visual and easy-to-digest manner, superimposed directly over landmarks, teammates, vehicles, and other items in the Soldier’s environment.
However, the development of this “heads-up” display system has not been without its speed bumps and challenges. Initial HMD solutions chosen for the system completely obscured the Soldier’s vision, replacing it with data from sensors and live video feeds. Unfortunately, these devices were heavy and uncomfortable, and created physical challenges for Soldiers.
During testing, the Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) found that, “…a majority of Soldiers who participated in the operational demonstration reported at least one symptom of physical impairment to include disorientation, dizziness, eyestrain, headaches, motion sickness and nausea, neck strain and tunnel vision.”
None of these physical impairments sound pleasant or beneficial to the Soldiers accomplishing their mission.
Three key HMD requirements
Despite these setbacks, there are still benefits to be had from deploying an HMD solution to dismounted warfighters. However, any HMD solution the Army chooses to deploy with its Soldiers needs to meet a specific set of requirements to ensure it’s effective and beneficial to the mission.
The requirements include:
1) Transparency and the ability to see what’s really in front of the Soldier.
Obscuring a Soldier’s view and replacing it with a video feed not only creates an intense glow that can betray their location to the enemy, but the latency inherent in the system can make the Soldier feel disconnected from reality and downright sick.
A new generation of HMD systems that are completely transparent and allow Soldiers to see around and through them are the more effective solution. These systems project necessary battlefield data and video feeds from drones directly into a Soldier’s field of vision but do so in a way that doesn’t give them vertigo or make them nauseous.
By embracing this new generation of transparent HMD solutions, Soldiers can benefit from having all necessary battlefield data and advanced situational awareness information displayed into their forward field of view without physical impairments, enabling them to better function in the complex, multi-domain missions of tomorrow.
2) The ability to integrate and interoperate with existing helmets, goggles, and other equipment.
The helmet that is currently issued to American Soldiers is the end result of more than 100 years of evolution – with each new generation of helmet improving and refining those that came before. Today’s Integrated Head Protection System (IHPS) has been optimized to offer the best possible head, face, and eye protection without impeding a Soldier’s movement or putting undue weight or stress on their head, neck, and back.
“Heads-up” display solutions that incorporate heavy front-facing cameras and monitors effectively undo a century of helmet evolution, creating neck and back problems for Soldiers and impacting their ability to accomplish their mission.
The benefits of a “heads-up” display solution…over having a mobile device mounted to the plate carrier or other part of the kit are significant. With the data displayed in the field of vision, the Soldier no longer needs to split their focus, vision, and attention away from the battlefield…
Any HMD solution that the U.S. Army utilizes should embrace and enhance the existing helmets being issued to Soldiers that are optimized for protection and comfort. They should integrate seamlessly with the helmet without adding significant weight or bulk – ensuring that comfort and range of movement are not sacrificed for situational awareness.
Also, integration with other widely issued and used technologies, including night vision goggles and other advanced helmet-mounted technologies, should be prioritized. This eliminates the need to invest in new alternatives to these solutions, and allows Soldiers to continue utilizing equipment that they’ve been trained on and are comfortable with.
3) An easy-to-use and easy-to-understand interface.
Aside from not making Soldiers dizzy or nauseous, any HMD that the Army adopts for the warfighter on the battlefield needs to be intuitive and easy to use. It also needs to do more than simply put data or images on the screen – it needs to display data, images, and video feeds in a way that makes it easy for the Soldier to understand what they’re seeing and how that data relates to the battlefield environment around them.
One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is to learn from the best practices identified in other industries that put significant resources toward user experience and making intuitive displays and controls. One of those industries is the video game industry.
Today’s advanced HMD solutions leverage a compass system complete with track symbols that show the physical location of points of interest on the battlefield. This is very similar to modern warfighting video games and simulations.
As the user rotates their head, the track symbols that enter the field of view are then highlighted in the AR display and rectified to where they are in real space. The symbols and data are also displayed in a way that is simple, easy to understand, and relevant to the mission. These HMD systems also clearly display data from sensors and video feeds, such as live video from drones, within a picture-in-picture frame, making it possible to see the battlefield and video feeds simultaneously.
Ultimately, HMD solutions will only benefit dismounted Soldiers if they use them. Leveraging an HMD solution that is comfortable, can be used without physical impairments, and is easy to use and understand is essential if the Army wants Soldiers to use and benefit from these solutions in the field.
Originally published Three Key Considerations for Choosing a “Heads-Up” HMD for the Warfighter on by https://modernbattlespace.com/2025/07/17/three-key-considerations-for-choosing-a-heads-up-hmd-for-the-warfighter/ at Modern Battlespace
Originally published Modern Battlespace
