Simulator Sickness and Related Findings in a Virtual Environment

Abstract

Research indicates that users of Virtual Environments (VEs) can experience a variety of effects known as “simulator sickness.” A PC-based VE system was used to investigate sickness occurring in conjunction with a 20-minute exposure to the game Ascent. Forty undergraduates served as participants. Sickness was measured with the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ). Data on gender, possible lingering/delayed effects, inter-pupillary distance (IPD), and final level reached in Ascent were also collected. Statistical comparison of the pre- and post-exposure SSQ data established sickness occurrence. The results indicated that sickness could be severe and may involve lingering and/or delayed effects. Gender differences in mean sickness scores were not statistically significant. A significant negative correlation was found between IPD and the SSQ Eyestrain symptom. Significant negative correlations were also found between sickness scores and final level reached in Ascent. These findings provide some insight into possible effects of VE exposure and suggest some areas for research.

The Application of Biosignal Feedback for Reducing Cybersickness from Exposure to a Virtual Environment

“…This result is consistent with previous studies. A review of the literature indicates that females have reported higher SSQ scores than males although the differences were not statistically significant in some studies (Kennedy, Lanham, Massey, & Drexler, 1994;Kolasinski, 1996;Kolasinski & Gilson, 1998). Biocca (1992) reported that men and women do not differ in their sensory response to motion stimuli, yet women tend to be more susceptible to motion sickness.…”

The Visual Effects Associated with Head-Mounted Displays

“…Our meta-analysis has led us to propose a few key sickness in HMD-based VEs [49]. Individuals also differ in their ability to habituate or adapt to HMD-based VEs (i.e.…”

“…Therefore, age effect on HMDs needs to be further studied and taken into account in the design of future HMDs. In regard to gender, females reported more simulator sickness and more often withdrew from HMD-based VEs when compared to male participants [16,19,33,48,49,70]. This difference may be due to under-reporting of susceptibility on self-reports by males (so-called "macho effect") or hormonal effects [110].…”

Analysis of Stability on Single-leg Standing by Wearing a Head Mounted Display

“…According to previous studies on the potential impact of VR technology (Kennedy & Lilienthal, 1995;Kennedy & Stanney, 1996;Kolasinski et al, 1994;Kolasinski, 1996), the subjects raised the issue of posture safety when returning to daily life from a newly simulated environment and reported experiencing cybersickness (Cobb & Nichols, 1998).…”