Moscow, Moscow, Das macht hundert Jahre alt - Cows now immersed in VR

[williamcll]

Russian cows are now being tested whether or not they can milk better if they are given virtual reality farms. How effective this will be is not known as of yet.

Quote

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 plays 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.

Source:https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/11/26/russian-cows-virtual-reality-headsets-a68316

https://msh.mosreg.ru/sobytiya/novosti-ministerstva/25-11-2019-10-07-55-na-podmoskovnoy-ferme-testirovali-vr-ochki-dlya-ko
Thoughts: Do you think it is ethical to leave animals inside a virtual world? There is only so much an animal can experience where their products are more affected by physical variables like food and weather.

[Levent]

This feels wrong on so many levels.

[.Apex.]

What the...

[Doobeedoo]

Oh wow just leave them alone. 

[FloRolf]

I really don't get the Title but WIRF DIE GLÄSER AN DIE WAND, RUSSLAND IST EIN SCHÖNES LAND HO HO HO HO HO HEY! 

[TempestCatto]

Why not actually give them good farms and a nice place to be and a nice environment? Is it really easier to develop VR for cows? Is it really cheaper than a nice big field with lots of grass?

[FloRolf]

5 minutes ago, TempestCatto said:

Why not actually give them good farms and a nice place to be and a nice environment? Is it really easier to develop VR for cows? Is it really cheaper than a nice big field with lots of grass?

Have you been to Russia in the winter? 

[Results45]

MUTHER RUSSIA: where tech can merge with anything in strange ways.

 

Hell, if was fitted with Koenigsegg Regera or Bugatti Divo (aka twice the torque) it could probably race a Tesla Cybertruck!

 

Admit it: It's both entertaining and refreshing. 

 

Meanwhile in London.........

Spoiler

.

.

[maartendc]

Checks calendar.... No it's not April 1st yet...

[JZStudios]

Funnily enough, EGS recently gave out Observer for free, and there's a big biomass genetically mutated pig that's used for harvesting organs and it's VR headset had crashed and you have to choose between killing the biomass or restarting the VR simulation.

[DaRk0]

45 minutes ago, FloRolf said:

Have you been to Russia in the winter? 

Obviously he didn't.

[pas008]

happy cows produce more

 

a vr setup for each might do it?

 

the mootrix

 

 

[Deli]

Next candidate would be VR for chicken. Lay more eggs.

[Arika]

Can i join VR Chat with them?

[Beskamir]

FarmVR Simulator: Redefining "free range" one farm animal at a time.

[PlayStation 2]

@pinksnowbirdie MooVR

[TomvanWijnen]

I think that, if this turns out to be effective, this is a really good idea. This doesn't seem to substitute going on in the field whenever possible, but instead helps the cows be happier whenever they can't be outside. Sounds great to me!

[SpaceGhostC2C]

14 hours ago, VegetableStu said:

meanwhile in russian ebay:

 

VR headset: lightly used, like new. no animals were harmed.

GPUs from mining, VR headsets from farming, games as a service...

 

PC: from manufacturing to the whole economy  

[Bombastinator]

11 hours ago, TempestCatto said:

Why not actually give them good farms and a nice place to be and a nice environment? Is it really easier to develop VR for cows? Is it really cheaper than a nice big field with lots of grass?

Sadly, yes.  Mostly because of additional human labor.  There a lot of automation in a modern cattle barn.  If the gigantic barn is already built anyway.
 

pic would have looked a lot scarier if you had 400 cows all lined up in pens with those things on their faces.

[maartendc]

19 hours ago, williamcll said:

Thoughts: Do you think it is ethical to leave animals inside a virtual world?

It is neither ethical nor unethical, since the cows are not real.

 

We are all living in the Matrix.

[NumLock21]

Cow with VR headsets isn't a new idea. It has been done before.

 

https://www.adweek.com/agencyspy/cows-enjoy-vr-in-mccann-new-yorks-first-work-for-chick-fil-a/125556/

 

 

 

[LAwLz]

On one hand, this looks and feels like a dystopian nightmare.

On the other hand, if it makes the cows happier and makes them produce more milk, why not? It's win-win.

[MysticLTT]

What's the cost, is the extra milk worth a freaking high tech headset?

[Bombastinator]

27 minutes ago, MysticLTT said:

What's the cost, is the extra milk worth a freaking high tech headset?

Someone thinks so.  A dairy cow used to produce ~40 gallons a day.  I don’t know what the wholesale price of milk is.  It’s variable by cream content for one thing.  Cream is more expensive than skim milk.  There are breeds of cows that produce less total milk but with a higher cream content.  They are sometimes referred to as “ice cream cows”

[Hidden Orange]

On 11/27/2019 at 7:29 AM, huilun02 said:

The only explanation is vodka

Speaking of vodka, I wonder if Russia has their own version of Kobe beef.