Pussy Play Now Possible in Virtual Reality

A collaborative effort between Zoos Victoria, RSPCA and Isobar has brought about the conception of the “CatVR”, essentially virtual reality goggles for felines that may have some questioning whether or not the poor creatures will be able to appreciate them…

Videos talking about the animal tech:

The website advertises the goggles as a way to “encourage people to keep their cats indoors”:

“Virtual reality has already begun to transform our world. Now it can transform your pet’s world too. PVRR (Pet Virtual Reality Research) is the latest innovation in entertainment to give your pets experiences they had only dreamed of.

Cat VR is a first-of-its-kind initiative from PVRR and Zoos Victoria, encouraging people to keep their pet cats indoors, and away from native wildlife.

PVRR worked with hundreds of cats and their owners to create hours of immersive experiences that stimulate their inherently playful nature. And to compensate for increased spatial awareness, and low light vision, each headset is calibrated to give cats an optimal viewing experience.

Isobar’s testing and analysis protocol integrate PVRR hardware and software with an emotion-sensing biometric research platform. It permits passive measurement of immersive experiences so the natural flow isn’t interrupted, and provides moment-to-moment sensing that lets developers pinpoint elements that enhance or detract from the experience.

We must subtract out the population of felines that are not aligned with our model of feline content consumers to account for felines that occupy areas in which there is no reliable power or internet access.”

Some may find the toy to be a liability depending on how easily aggressive cats could destroy them and how expensive they are, though according to an ad on the page, the company has apparently taken a page out of Nintendo’s book in realizing the potential of cardboard:

The CatVR goggles can be pre-ordered now.