Today we are talking about a slightly different virtual reality, a kind of holodeck for animals. Scientists from Austria wanted to use "FreemoVR" to find out how animals react to virtually created objects.
Of course, the small animals could not be fitted with VR glasses, which is why neurobiologist Andrew Straw developed the system with the Holodeck from "Star Trek". The animals can move around freely and do not wear any special clothing while they are in a completely computer-generated environment. High-speed cameras are used for tracking. They film the position of the animals and adapt the projected images to their movements in real time.
The Show resultsthat the animals perceived the virtual reality as real: Fish circled virtual pillars as they would with real pillars, while mice were very careful with simulated heights. Fruit flies, on the other hand, avoided virtual obstacles. The aim of this research is to draw conclusions about the functions of certain genes and neuronal connections. Ultimately, this should also lead to a better understanding of the human brain. The complete scientific publication is available as PDF available.
Source: VRODO
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