Farmers in the Moscow region have fitted their cows with virtual reality headsets to see if it helps them produce more milk, The Moscow Times reports.
“Experts noted reduced anxiety and improved overall emotional mood in the herd” during the VR experiment, said the agriculture administration for the region.
Citing Dutch and Scottish research suggesting that a calming atmosphere increases dairy production, it said that milk production is what is now being studied during the second phase of the experiment. It also said that some Russian farmers are already playing classical music to their cows to achieve a similar "positive effect on milk flow.”
The virtual reality the cows are living in is a "unique summer field" allegedly informed by cattle vision research, and veterinarians also have a say on the development of the virtual reality.
The developers plan to expand the bovine Truman show/VR experiment if observations continue to show positive results.
What's next? Russian pigs get sent to krokodil rehab?