VOA慢速英语2021 微软获得美国军方价值220亿美元合约提供增强现实头戴设备（在线收听）

Microsoft has announced a contract with the U.S. Army worth almost $22 billion to produce augmented reality headsets.

微软公司宣布与美国陆军达成一项价值220亿美元的合约，为美国军方生产增强现实头戴设备。

Augmented reality, or AR, is a technology that uses glasses to project computer-created pictures and information that add to what users see in the real, physical world.

增强现实技术是一种利用眼镜来投影计算机创建的图片和信息的技术，可以增加用户在现实物理世界中能看到的内容。

The deal was announced Wednesday. Microsoft would supply at least 120,000 troops with the devices.

该交易于周三宣布。微软将向至少12万名士兵提供这种设备。

Military officials said the technology will improve soldiers' ability to see their surroundings and identify targets and danger. The technology is based on Microsoft's HoloLens headsets, which were first designed for video games.

军方官员表示，这项技术将提高士兵观察周围环境，识别目标和危险的能力。该技术基于微软的HoloLens头戴设备，它最初是为视频游戏所开发的。

The Army said the headsets could be used for both training and in battle. The army said the AR system could help troops gain an upper hand during battle. Soldiers first tested the gadgets last year.

美国陆军表示，这些头戴设备可以用于训练和实战。美国陆军表示，增强现实系统可以帮助部队在战斗中占据上风。士兵们去年首次测试了这些设备。

The contract is worth up to $21.88 billion for up to 10 years, Microsoft said. The agreement goes for five years and could be extended for an additional five.

微软表示，这份长达10年时间的合约价值高达218.8亿美元。该协议为期5年，并且可以再延长5年。

Microsoft President Brad Smith spoke about the technology to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee in February. He said soldiers could use the system to see at night and for facial recognition on the battlefield. He also described how it could help in hostage situations by creating an electronic representation of a building, what he called a "digital twin."

微软总裁布拉德·史密斯今年2月向美国参议院武装部队委员会介绍了这种技术。他说，士兵们可以使用该系统在夜间观察，并在战场上进行面部识别。他还描述了在解救人质场景中如何通过创建建筑物的电子表现形式来提供帮助，他称这种电子表现形式为“电子孪生兄弟”。

Several technology companies have sought to use augmented reality for video games. Those efforts have largely been unsuccessful. But Microsoft's Hololens 2 will be used by the Army. The company also wants the devices to be used to help doctors during medical operations, factory crews and others. Users can often control what they see on the device by using hand movements or voice commands.

有几家科技公司已经寻求将增强现实技术用于视频游戏。这些努力大多没有成功。但是微软的Hololens 2头戴设备将供美国陆军使用。该公司还希望该设备可以用于帮助医疗手术期间的医生、工厂工作人员以及其他人员。用户通常可以使用手势或语言命令来控制他们在设备上所看到的内容。

The headset deal is part of Microsoft's work as a defense contractor. The military also awarded Microsoft a $10 billion cloud computing contract in September.

这项头戴设备协议是微软作为国防承包商的成果的一部分。军方去年9月还将100亿美元的云计算合同给了微软。