Contributions of headset IPD fit, vection and sway to cybersickness during head mounted display based virtual reality

Individual differences in headset fit, visual illusions of self-motion (vection) and postural sway are all thought to contribute to cybersickness. This head-mounted display (HMD) study examined their effects during a virtual reality flight simulation game. Participants piloted a flying car for up to 10 min with the key HMD fit parameter of interpupillary distance (IPD) set to 58, 63 or 68 mm. After measuring their physical IPD, we calculated the IPD mismatch during each trial. We found that their physical IPD, the nature of their IPD mismatch, the type and strength of their vection, and the characteristics of their sway, all influenced reported cybersickness. Participants who were more susceptible to real world motion sickness, and had less experience with HMD VR, were also found to experience cybersickness more severely in this study.