Return of Palmer Luckey: Meta and Anduril build AR glasses for the US military
After supporting Donald Trump's first election campaign, Palmer Luckey was fired from Facebook. Now Trump is back and Luckey is working with Meta again.
Palmer Luckey and Mark Zuckerberg
(Image: Anduril)
The Facebook parent company Meta and the defense start-up Anduril want to jointly develop an AR system called EagleEye, which is intended to significantly enhance the perception of US soldiers. This is according to a press release from the companies and a report in the Wall Street Journal. This also reunites Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey, after the latter was forced out of his VR company Oculus because he supported Donald Trump before his first election victory in 2016. Together, they now also want to ensure that the control of AI weapon systems in the US army is made easier.
"Turning warfighters into technomancers"
According to the Wall Street Journal, the social media company and the armaments start-up have jointly bid for a contract from the US Army, which wants to pay 100 million US dollars for special VR devices. The order is therefore part of a much larger project for headsets worth a total of 22 billion US dollars. Meta and Anduril are working on devices equipped with sensors to improve the hearing and vision of soldiers. They will also be used to control AI weapon systems. Both want to press ahead with the project, regardless of whether they ultimately win the military contract or not.
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Luckey, who was first silenced and then fired as head of Oculus at Facebook after he supported Trump's first presidential election campaign, is now savoring his satisfaction with the cooperation. "I was successful," he now told the US newspaper: "I convinced not only Meta but many others that working with the military is important." After Mark Zuckerberg kept a noticeable distance from the then US President after Trump's first election victory, things are entirely different after his second election victory. The company is proud to be working with Anduril to bring futuristic technology to the US military "that protects our interests at home and abroad", says Zuckerberg.
The new partnership also gives Luckey access to the fruits of his labor at Oculus again, adds the Wall Street Journal –, including the technology that was developed there after his departure. "I'm getting my toys back," is how he put it himself. He also explains that it has long been his goal to turn "warriors into technomancers", i.e. a magician who combines magic with technology. It was only in February that his company took on contracts from Microsoft to develop AR glasses for the US military.
(mho)
