Alleviating simulator sickness with galvanic cutaneous stimulation

In a driving simulation, we investigated the efficacy of galvanic cutaneous stimulation (GCS) provided during curves or intermittently during the whole circuit to mitigate simulator syndrome (SS).

The literature on how GCS decreases SS, although scarce, has demonstrated the effectiveness of this technique. Stimulation with this and similar techniques has usually been provided in curves or continuously during the whole circuit but never intermittently. This stimulation method could generate a continued activation of processes related to GCS mitigating SS.

Fifteen drivers (8 men; mean age = 25.5 years) participated in this experiment. We compared the total scores of the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) across three stimulation conditions: (a) curve GCS condition, whereby GCS was provided in curves; (b) intermittent GCS condition, whereby GCS was provided intermittently during the whole circuit; and (c) no-stimulation condition, whereby no stimulation was provided (baseline condition).

The experimental outcomes revealed that GCS decreased SS in both the curve and intermittent stimulation conditions.

We provide evidence that GCS is an effective countermeasure to decrease SS. It could be applied indifferently in curves or intermittently during the whole circuit.

For future interventions, we recommend the use of GCS to mitigate SS with similar intermittent stimulation programs. These programs have a crucial advantage as they are easily integrated into the simulator setup without the necessity of generating a complicated experimental design to stimulate during the curves.