A vestibular conflict perspective on kinetosis risk during different motion patterns in real car driving experiments...

In the context of research on kinetosis in autonomously driving cars, the impact on kinetosis development of different vehicle-specific parameters is frequently examined. However, the physiological perspective of vestibular motion cue processing is often not addressed. The study examines how stop and go and lane change maneuvers with obstructed outward and stationary interior view are associated with kinetosis risk during realistic car driving maneuvers. The differences in kinetosis development with respect to seating direction forward or backward as well as low and high magnitude of pitch, roll, and yaw motion due to modified car settings were examined. A total of 65 participants (37 females/28 males, mean age: 30.5 years ± 11.8 years) with only moderate kinetosis susceptibility, tested with a kinetosis provoking rotating chair test, were included. Our results demonstrate a significantly higher kinetosis risk for stop and go compared to lane change maneuvers (p = 0.018, η² = 0.125) during maneuvers with rotational amplitudes of standard car settings. In contrast, within the conditions of our experiments different seat directions or minimum vs. maximum rotational amplitudes do not significantly change kinetosis risk. The results are discussed in context of a theoretical framework of vestibular motion cue processing and physiology suggesting compensatory effects of the human vestibular system. Overall, these results provide further insights into the identification of kinetosis critical driving maneuvers with regard to the future development of autonomously driving cars.