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brooklynite

(94,595 posts)
Thu Nov 28, 2019, 09:09 PM Nov 2019

Russian dairy farmers gave cows VR goggles with hopes they would be happier and make better milk

CNN

A farm just outside of Moscow is testing VR glasses for its cows, it says, in an effort to increase the quantity -- and quality -- of the milk produced.

That's according to a news release published Monday from the Ministry of Agriculture of the Moscow region. It came accompanied by photos of a cow trying out its fancy new goggles.

...snip...

So, a team of developers, with the help of veterinarians and consultants for dairy production, made some oversized VR glasses for cows. They adapted the human versions to account for cows' different head shapes and eyesight, the news release says. And then voila! Cow VR glasses.

And what were these cows experiencing with their new VR glasses? A wild, expansive field beneath the summer sun. A cow's (virtual) paradise.
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Russian dairy farmers gave cows VR goggles with hopes they would be happier and make better milk (Original Post) brooklynite Nov 2019 OP
CYBERCOWS !!!!!!1111!!1!!!!11 uriel1972 Nov 2019 #1
I hear Deven Nunes' Cow is already considering mooving. nt Quackers Nov 2019 #10
I wasn't sure how to feel about this... Alithea Nov 2019 #2
I like your perspective. dewsgirl Nov 2019 #3
Thanks. I'm feeling kinda down these days so I'm trying to wring out some positivity Alithea Nov 2019 #7
Keep it up, I need to get on that train with ya. dewsgirl Nov 2019 #12
Low anxiety and improved moods could create a better quality meat. Flaleftist Nov 2019 #8
The world is awash in stupidity LSFL Nov 2019 #4
Music in the barn helps so I have heard nt doc03 Nov 2019 #5
since they are Russian cojoel Nov 2019 #6
Russian cows are the first ones into the matrix? Iterate Nov 2019 #9
Well, there was this Sapient Donkey Nov 2019 #11
Somewhere I saw an application for VR and AI being developed Iterate Nov 2019 #13
 

Alithea

(99 posts)
2. I wasn't sure how to feel about this...
Thu Nov 28, 2019, 09:51 PM
Nov 2019

Happy that the poor cows are at least offered a mirage of an expansive field beneath the summer sun ?
or
Sad that they're being raised in conditions where they won't experience it IRL and are offered the mirage only so that more and better milk could be extracted from them ?

Then I clicked through, and, OK, it says "a first test did reveal a decrease in anxiety and an increase in the emotional mood of the herd", and that cow with VR glasses is pretty darn cute, so I'm tending toward "happy".

 

Alithea

(99 posts)
7. Thanks. I'm feeling kinda down these days so I'm trying to wring out some positivity
Thu Nov 28, 2019, 11:16 PM
Nov 2019

from anywhere I can.

Flaleftist

(3,473 posts)
8. Low anxiety and improved moods could create a better quality meat.
Thu Nov 28, 2019, 11:40 PM
Nov 2019

Real Wagyu meat is very expensive and also very good. If a similar beef could be produced at a cheaper price, a lot of people would buy it instead of regular beef. Of course, diet is also a factor.

I have hopes for the future of lab grown meat. It's in its infancy. It is extremely expensive and doesn't exactly taste like it should, but there seems to be progress. Hopefully, it can eliminate the need for factory farms as we know them.

LSFL

(1,109 posts)
4. The world is awash in stupidity
Thu Nov 28, 2019, 10:02 PM
Nov 2019

But at least the cow doesn't have to look at old man Ivan molesting the chickens. I heard at first that they showed the cows VR footage of a shirtless Putin. This proved to be counterproductive as after a brief exposure to Putin's raw masculinity (and dinner plate sized nipples...you're welcome for that image) their udders instantly morphed into scrotums and the teets became penises. Only by showing them pics of Tom Brady were the cows reverted to normal..

Iterate

(3,020 posts)
13. Somewhere I saw an application for VR and AI being developed
Fri Nov 29, 2019, 01:35 AM
Nov 2019

that would use film or video - where the images were complete enough - to build a complete scene or recording of an event. AI is used to fill in blanks and allow complete interactive viewing angles.

That's amazing enough, but the WOW comes in when you realize your home movies, historical events, or sporting events could be rendered so that you could be there, for example, walking around in the scene of your first birthday party.

I actually hope the dog thing happens. A chewed $1k headset was my first thought. But pranking my brother by slipping in a dog's view of endless fire hydrants was so much better.

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