New Orbit Magazine Issue 08; Feb 2020, The Future of Animals

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In November of last year, a Russian press release wentsomewhat viral when it claimed that a dairy farm in Moscowhad created a prototype of a virtual reality headset for theirdairy cows, which was part of an experiment to use VR toimprove the farm’s milk yields.- Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Moscow Region,November 25, 2019
This press release likens the use of a cowfriendlyvirtual reality world to the rotatingbrushes that some dairy farmers install forcow enrichment (as cows love to scratchthemselves), or sound equipment used tobroadcast classical music – according to theministry, “the relaxing effect of whichpositively affects milk output”. The idea isthat during winter, when cows are cold,usually indoors, and their milk yields sufferas a result, the virtual world they’d beplugged into would trick them intobelieving they are in warm, summerpastures – with the aim of stimulating thesame milk output as they would underthose conditions.Bizarre as it sounds, this prototype is real,and the product of hundreds of hours ofresearch and development by acombination of dairy farmers, engineersand veterinarians, in an attempt to createthe best possible VR experience. Thehousing of the technology was speciallydesigned for the shape and size of thebovine head, as well as durable enough towithstand winter weather farm conditions.The visuals inside the headset focus onwarm, reddish hues, which, seeing as cattleare more able to see and identify this partof the spectrum than humans, betterrepresent their outdoor summer monthsthan the green pastures and the blue skiesthat we might focus on ourselves.According to the experts, the prototype wassomething of a success. They're yet toreport the impact on milk yields (which isbeing recorded in a comprehensive furtherstudy), but can report a drop in anxietyamong the herd, as well as a markedincrease in their happiness and mood.
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New Orbit Magazine Issue 08; Feb 2020, The Future of Animals

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