Can you imagine a scene, where cows are wearing VR glasses? No, you are absolutely right. This is really funny and unbelievable to imagine a cow wearing virtual reality glasses. But dairy farmers in Russia are making their cattle wear VR (Virtual Reality) devices and hoping that their cows will be more relaxed while producing milk. Keeping their cows stress free is the major reason of this practice.
This sounds like a story from 2000 AD comic, making a strange point about a dystopian society, but the Moscow Ministry of Agriculture and Food has released Pictures of these cattle wearing specially designed VR devices as proof.
There are number of different studies that show that there is a relation between a cow’s emotional state and its daily milk yield. Before this, we’ve heard of dairy farmers playing classical songs in their farms for their cows in order to lower their stress level and increase the daily milk production. But as technology is enhancing, new mood-altering solutions are being introduced. For example; the RusMoloko farm in Moscow (Russia) recently equipped its cattle with VR devices adapted for the “structural features of cow heads”.
The Virtual Reality cows
Well, we are living in digital world so why not cows experience the same. As this a 21st century, farmers and dairy owners are currently experimenting with these virtual reality headsets on their cows. Virtual reality could really ensure that cows experience the minimum stress and improve the quality of milk. So, what do the cows see through these virtual reality glasses, definitely flowering meadows under the sun, may be a cow’s paradise.
What ministry’s press release has to say?
The ministry’s press release concluded that “To solve pressing problems in milk production, experts are increasingly being involved not only in specialized fields but also specialists in the field of IT technologies”. The ministry’s press release also stated that “The developers of the virtual reality or VR studio are coming up in collaboration with veterinarians and consultants from the production, adapted human virtual reality devices taking into account the structural features of the head of cows”. Based on numerous studies of cattle’s vision, showing cows better perceiving shades of the red part of the spectrum and weaker green and blue tones, virtual reality architects also created a unique summer field simulation program.” This is still very much in the testing phase, but the ministry reports that already they’re recording a “decrease in anxiety and an increase in the overall emotional mood of the herd”. Though, the positive impact of the VR glasses on milk yields has yet to be confirmed.
