The grass is greener in a virtual world.
That’s what Moscow region farmers were aiming for when they fitted their dairy cows with virtual-reality headsets to test their milk production.
“Experts noted reduced anxiety and improved overall emotional mood in the herd” during the VR experiment, said the regional agriculture administration.
The second phase of the experiment, it said, will evaluate the VR-wearing cows’ milk production.
The farmers worked with developers and veterinarians, and relied on cattle-vision research, to “create unique software simulating a summer field.”
The administration published a photograph featured a Holstein Friesian wearing a black headset on an overcast day, presumably gazing at a green pasture.
Interfax reported that the experiment was conducted on a farm in Krasnogorsk northwest of Moscow.
The Moscow region agriculture administration cited Dutch and Scottish research suggesting that a calming atmosphere increases dairy production.
It added that local manufacturers play classical music “whose soothing effect has a positive effect on milk flow.”
The developers plan to expand the VR experiment, it said, if observations continue to show positive results.
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