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Controlled Rotation of Human Observers in a Virtual Reality Environment

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Postural instability and motion sickness in a virtual moving room.

Sébastien J Villard¹, Moira B Flanagan, Gina M Albanese

¹School of Kinesiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.

|June 4, 2008

Summary

Virtual environments can induce motion sickness similar to physical ones, with postural changes preceding symptoms. However, responses to virtual motion differ from physical motion environments.

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Area of Science:

Human-Computer Interaction
Virtual Reality Research
Neuroscience

Background:

Physical environments with visible oscillation can cause motion sickness and postural instability.
It is unknown if virtual simulations of such motion elicit similar effects.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate motion sickness in participants exposed to an oscillating virtual environment.
To compare postural responses in virtual versus physical motion environments.

Main Methods:

Participants stood in a virtual room simulation for up to 40 minutes.
The virtual stimulus mimicked a device known to cause postural instability and motion sickness.
Participants could discontinue the simulation if motion sickness symptoms arose.

Main Results:

Motion sickness incidence (42%) was comparable to studies using physical moving rooms.
The group experiencing motion sickness showed predicted changes in movement before symptom onset.
Differences in movement evolved over time in the virtual environment, unlike in physical environments.

Conclusions:

Postural activity changes precede motion sickness in oscillating virtual environments.
Virtual and physical motion environments elicit different postural responses.
Virtual environments can serve as models for studying perception and action in physical settings.