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Anduril announced<\/a> its ninth acquisition on Monday with the purchase of Dublin\u2019s Klas, makers of ruggedized edge computing equipment for the military and first responders.<\/p>\n Anduril wouldn\u2019t reveal financial details of the deal, and the purchase is subject to regulatory approval, but the company did say that Klas employs 150 people.\u00a0<\/p>\n Relatedly, on Monday, Anduril also announced<\/a> a new product called Menace-T.\u00a0<\/p>\n We\u2019ll give the company points for the interesting product name, especially for a device that\u2019s really just a bundle of compute\/network connectivity, rather than, say, a fantasy-style broadsword. (Compare the name Menace to Lockheed Martin\u2019s C2BMC, the name for its Command, Control, Battle Management & Communications products.)<\/p>\n Klas\u2019 flagship product, known as Voyager, is the ruggedized family of compute and networking systems that Anduril had already been using in its other Menace command center products. Voyager had also already been integrated with Anduril\u2019s flagship Lattice software. Lattice brings sensors and AI to devices to perform tasks like object identification.<\/p>\n But while most of us envision a portable command system being the size of a truck \u2014 which many are \u2014 Menace-T fits into two carry-on cases that can be set up by one person in minutes, the company says. Its goal is to bring edge computing and communications to off-grid and\/or inhospitable environments. Anduril says it\u2019s already being used in military ground vehicles and maritime vessels.<\/p>\n One interesting use case for Menace-T is compute\/communications support for the military\u2019s Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) VR headsets. The IVAS project was initially awarded to Microsoft in 2018 after it pitched the idea of developing ruggedized HoloLens headsets for soldiers. The project was awarded an initial $21.9 billion budget.\u00a0<\/p>\n Techcrunch event<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBerkeley, CA<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t But after years of technical struggles, Anduril took control of the troubled contract<\/a> in February \u2014 although Microsoft remains a cloud partner.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lattice had already been added to Microsoft\u2019s IVAS headsets, bringing computer vision AI that helps the headset detect, track, and classify objects.<\/p>\n Now Anduril thinks that the Klas technology that powers its Menace-T product can solve some of IVAS\u2019s other historic problems, like reliable data processing.<\/p>\n With IVAS, \u201cthere are scenarios where those soldiers need to communicate with the tactical edge to send data, to receive data, to task autonomous systems, and that\u2019s a place where the Klas technology can help,\u201d Tom Keane, SVP of Engineering, said at a press conference. \u201cKlas has already been supplying technology to IVAS for several years in that context. So we expect to do more there.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond Anduril\u2019s military objectives, there are a host of other computer vision situations that are not practical until more powerful edge computing becomes available. This ranges from automotive to industrial \u2014 or even areas like pollution monitoring<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n While Anduril is clearly focusing on military and related fields like law enforcement\u00a0\u2014 with all the rhetoric that implies \u2014 should it solve the edge computing issue for IVAS, there are at least as many commercial possibilities for the tech. Anduril hasn\u2019t ruled out one day pursuing those as well.<\/p>\n \u201cThe technology and products from Klas have many use cases: military, national security, law enforcement, autonomy and more.\u00a0 Anduril, together with our partners, will continue to support customers [with] a wide array of use cases,\u201d Keane told TechCrunch.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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