Meta Platforms Inc. and Anduril Industries Inc., a defense technology startup, have announced a partnership to develop wearable devices for the U.S. military. The collaboration aims to create a line of wearables called EagleEye, which will include rugged helmets, glasses, and other devices featuring virtual and mixed reality capabilities.
Anduril, valued at $14 billion in its most recent funding round, specializes in developing hardware systems for the defense sector, including aircraft and subsea sensors, as well as AI software to power this equipment. The company’s CEO, Palmer Luckey, previously founded Oculus Labs Inc., a virtual reality startup acquired by Meta (then Facebook Inc.) in 2014 for $2 billion.
Key Features of EagleEye Wearables
The EagleEye series is designed to enhance the wearer’s hearing and vision while allowing users to remotely control autonomous systems. These devices will utilize algorithms from Meta’s Llama family of open-source language models, particularly the smaller neural networks like Llama-3.2-1B that can run on resource-constrained devices such as virtual reality headsets.
The wearables will also incorporate Lattice, Anduril’s operating system that provides users with access to data collected by defense systems. Lattice can gather information from thousands of sources and is powered by Lattice Mesh, a networking engine that enables encrypted data exchange between devices. In low-bandwidth situations, Lattice Mesh prioritizes the most critical traffic.
Industry Impact and Future Developments
Meta Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth emphasized that this partnership represents a new era of computing that will extend human senses and perception. The collaboration has already led to a joint bid for a $100 million virtual reality device contract issued by the U.S. Army, part of the broader SBMC Next program potentially worth up to $22 billion. Anduril recently replaced Microsoft as the lead supplier for this program.
As the partnership progresses, the integration of Meta’s Reality Labs business unit is expected to play a significant role in developing the EagleEye wearables. This collaboration between Meta and Anduril highlights the growing intersection of technology and defense, with potential implications for the future of military operations and wearable technology.
