Facial skin temperature as a biomarker for motion sickness

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Automotive Safety

Background:

• Motion sickness poses a significant barrier to the widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles.
• Current methods for assessing motion sickness are often subjective and obtrusive.
• Individual susceptibility to motion sickness varies greatly, making prediction difficult.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an objective, unobtrusive method for measuring motion sickness.
• To investigate facial skin temperature as a potential physiological biomarker for motion sickness.
• To explore the utility of camera-based infrared imaging for assessing motion sickness in passengers.

Main Methods:

• Developed a camera-based system using electro-optical and infrared imaging to measure facial skin temperature.
• Exposed 14 participants to off-vertical axis rotation to induce motion sickness.
• Correlated facial skin temperature changes in various facial regions with subjective motion sickness ratings.

Main Results:

• Facial skin temperature, particularly on the forehead, showed a consistent inverse relationship with subjective motion sickness ratings.
• While temporal patterns of skin temperature varied between individuals, the forehead temperature reliably indicated sickness levels.
• The system demonstrated potential for unobtrusively measuring physiological responses to motion sickness.

Conclusions:

• Infrared imaging of facial skin temperature presents a promising, non-invasive biomarker for objectively assessing motion sickness.
• This technology could be integrated into autonomous vehicles to monitor and potentially mitigate passenger discomfort.
• Further research is needed to address the challenges and optimize the application of this technology in real-world driving scenarios.