Skip to main content

Virtual reality goggles for dairy cows? Pull the udder one

 

Dairy farmers in Russia are putting virtual reality headsets on their cows to encourage them to eat more grass. Of course, we initially thought this rather amoosing story was a load of bull, but it appears it’s not as udderly ridiculous as it first sounds. (Look, it’s not every day we happen upon a story about cows wearing VR glasses, so don’t be surprised that we’re milking it for all its worth).

OK, enough.

Recommended Videos

Cows with VR goggles. Yes, it seems like it really is a thing. In Russia, that is. A press release from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Moscow Region that was picked up by the Moscow Times explains how environmental conditions can impact a cow’s health and, as a consequence, affect the quality and quantity of the milk that it produces. So far, so good.

Working at a dairy farm in Krasnogorsk, northwest of the Russian capital, researchers experimenting with the system modified a VR headset so that it would fit the cow’s head and ensure the animal had the best possible view of the content that was playing inside the device.

Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Moscow Region

While we’d like to imagine the animals are watching movies like the 2006 computer-animated comedy Barnyard, or even the 1980 Scorsese classic Raging Bull, it seems that the cows in question are actually being shown carefully selected shades of the color spectrum to create what the ministry described as “a unique summer field simulation program.”

In other words, if the weather is crap, or the scenery a little on the boring side, the visuals inside the headset are supposed to relax the cows and compel them to chomp enthusiastically on the grass like it was a beautiful summer’s day.

“During the first test, experts recorded a decrease in anxiety and an increase in the overall emotional mood of the herd,” the ministry said, suggesting that VR glasses could become a common feature on dairy cattle around the world in the near future. So long as this isn’t some kind of wacky publicity stunt.

We should know soon enough, as the ministry said the cow-based technology will be discussed at the upcoming International Agro-Industrial Dairy Forum in Moscow in February next year. Wait, what was that about a publicity stunt?

Technology is actually already widely used by dairy farmers for tasks such as automated milking and feeding, health monitoring, herd management, comfort and cleaning, and mating management. More recently, cow facial recognition technology that incorporates artificial intelligence has been trialed by U.S. dairy farmers to help them in their work. No really, it has.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
This futuristic haptic vest should make virtual reality feel more realistic
actronika haptic vest skinetic vr more realistic virtual reality

Actronika, a startup company known for its HD haptics technology has a futuristic new product. Expected to be on display at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2022 is Skinetic, a haptic vest that should make virtual reality experiences feel a lot more realistic.

Skinetic works much as you'd expect. The wearable vest makes VR feel more immersive by bringing life-like sensations and touch-like experiences to areas of the body like the chest when paired with a compatible headset. As reported by Business Wire, the technology "works with 20 patented vibrotactile voice-coil motors, capable of generating a wide range of vibrations that cover 100% of human vibrotactile perception."

Read more
Apple’s new AR headset may use Face ID technology to track hand gestures
Apple VR Headset Concept by Antonio De Rosa

Apple has an augmented reality (AR) headset in the works, and a well-known analyst now predicts that it will use Face ID to track hand movements.

The upcoming headset is said to be equipped with more 3D sensing modules than iPhones and, according to the report, may one day replace iPhones altogether.

Read more
The future of immersive VR? ‘Chemical haptics’ applied to your skin
A woman in a VR headset holding her hands out.

VR headsets are currently able to simulate realistic environments to trick your brain into thinking it's actually there. But researchers at the University of Chicago are going a step further by simulating physical sensations using chemicals applied to your skin.

The implementation seems basic, but the results are fascinating and could provide a way to make VR even more immersive.

Read more