A new PVRR (Pet Virtual Reality Research) technical brief targets the hundreds of millions of global kitties who might enjoy a romp through a virtual playscape. For starters, be sure to watch the compelling promotional pitch below:

Isobar, the brainchild of this operation, boasts their brain-monitoring and emotion-measuring capabilities. Thee brief reports that they have partnered with Zoos Victoria to detail the stakeholders and potential benefits of their emerging tech. After all, they ask: why should only “big cats” get to have all of the fun?

Per the paper, “PVRR utilizes EEG and EKG technology to monitor cats’ emotions to certain stimuli. The methodology accounts for the fact that cats see less color, but see better in the dark than humans.” Their tests involved showing cats swimming fish, low-flying birds and other objects and scenes designed to evoke a response.

Actually reading the brief, though, you might be both amused and skeptical — it did also, after all, come out on April second, which may be more than coincidence (really, though, you should read it yourself to learn more).

More from the design team: “We pioneered a patent-pending process that is referred to as ‘W.A.H.T’- whisker attenuation and haptic telemetry. this groundbreaking addition to the computer vision and sensor platform has allowed us to leverage software algorithms to understand the ‘tells’ each feline has related to their whiskers and be able to accurately understand when a cat experiences one of the following states: (1) TD: totally disinterested, (2) D: disinterested, (3) MD: mildly disinterested and (4) CNP: cat-nipped – a term we’ve been using to express the same brain activity seen in highly stimulated cats when under the effects of catnip”

Of course, this may all sound silly to us right now, but wait a few years and household pets may well while away lonely days at home being fed by robots and goofing off inside simulated playscapes. According to the PVRR brief: dogs are the next target audience, so: stay tuned, canine fans!

A new virtual reality application from IKEA lets users try out various kitchen configurations in three dimensions. Using an HTC Vive headset, the app lets people see different setups but also change key details in each, such as the colors and materials of drawers and cabinets.

Created in partnership with the French company Allegorithmic and employing the Unreal Engine 4 (from Epic Games), the app lets would-be buyers select from various furnishings and fixtures.

“Virtual reality is developing quickly and in five to ten years it will be an integrated part of people’s lives,” says optimist and futurist Jesper Brodin, managing director of IKEA of Sweden. “We see that virtual reality will play a major role in the future of our customers. For instance, someday, it could be used to enable customers to try out a variety of home furnishing solutions before buying them.”

For now, the system is a test case, available to those with access to a virtual reality headset. Users are encouraged to try it out and let the company know what they think about the current setup and how it can be improved. The company hopes to enable participants not only to shop smarter but also to become a part of the creative process in developing new design ideas and interior options.