Russian Farmers Using VR To Make Their Cows Relax

[Image Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Moscow Region ]

When geeking out over Virtual Reality, agriculture is rarely the first thing that comes to mind. One Russian farmer is not as narrow-sighted as I am and has found an innovative way to use VR to enhance their craft.

RusLoko Dairy Farm in Russia is making cows wear VR headsets to enhance milk production. How? The custom made headsets improve the cow’s condition by beaming relaxing pictures of “sun-filled summer views of green pastures“.

Research done prior to the production of the VR headset for cows proved that points to higher and better quality milk production in cows that had a calmer atmosphere and thus the headsets are meant to mimic those optimum conditions and maximize yield from the cows.

As aforementioned, the headsets aren’t regular off-the-shelf VR headsets but actually custom-made headsets for cows:

The team ensured to create VR views that work with a cow’s vision, for instance, their higher perception of the color red but weaker tones of blue and green were taken into account. The virtual reality architects also designed a unique program for simulating green summer fields. 

Interesting Engineering

The cows are said to have shown a decrease in anxiety and an increase in the “general mood” of the test herd. The study is yet to prove if the cows are producing more milk but regardless of how this ends it sure will make for interesting discussions.

PS: Does this mean that the cows wearing these headsets are living in the Matrix?