An Active Suspension System for Mitigating Motion Sickness and Enabling Reading in a Car

Area of Science:

• Automotive Engineering
• Human Factors Engineering
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Autonomous vehicles present challenges for passenger safety and comfort, particularly when reading.
• Motion sickness is a significant issue for passengers engaged in reading while in transit.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effectiveness of an active suspension system in mitigating motion sickness.
• To assess the impact of reduced vehicle vibrations on reading performance, comfort, and motion sickness.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a car with a commercial active suspension system in a parked car simulation.
• Replicated both unmitigated (conventional suspension) and mitigated (active cancellation) ride conditions.
• Evaluated reading performance, comfort, and motion sickness under both simulated ride conditions.

Main Results:

• Both conditions reduced low-frequency (0-0.8 Hz) vibrations.
• The mitigated ride attenuated mid-frequency (0.8-8 Hz) vibrations, crucial for visual-vestibular conflict.
• Mitigated ride significantly reduced motion sickness, enhanced reading comprehension, and improved comfort compared to the unmitigated ride.

Conclusions:

• Active suspension systems can effectively reduce motion sickness in vehicles, especially for reading passengers.
• Attenuating 0.8-8 Hz vibrations is key to preventing motion sickness linked to reading in vehicles.
• Findings have implications for automotive design standards (e.g., ISO-2631) concerning human vibration exposure.