The Effect of Motion Direction and Eccentricity on Vection, VR Sickness and Head Movements in Virtual Reality

Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) experienced through head-mounted displays often leads to vection, discomfort and sway in the user. This study investigated the effect of motion direction and eccentricity on these three phenomena using optic flow patterns displayed using the Valve Index. Visual motion stimuli were presented in the centre, periphery or far periphery and moved either in depth (back and forth) or laterally (left and right). Overall vection was stronger for motion in depth compared to lateral motion. Additionally, eccentricity primarily affected stimuli moving in depth with stronger vection for more peripherally presented motion patterns compared to more central ones. Motion direction affected the various aspects of VR sickness differently and modulated the effect of eccentricity on VR sickness. For stimuli moving in depth far peripheral presentation caused more discomfort, whereas for lateral motion the central stimuli caused more discomfort. Stimuli moving in depth led to more head movements in the anterior–posterior direction when the entire visual field was stimulated. Observers demonstrated more head movements in the anterior–posterior direction compared to the medio-lateral direction throughout the entire experiment independent of motion direction or eccentricity of the presented moving stimulus. Head movements were elicited on the same plane as the moving stimulus only for stimuli moving in depth covering the entire visual field. A correlation showed a positive relationship between dizziness and vection duration and between general discomfort and sway. Identifying where in the visual field motion presented to an individual causes the least amount of VR sickness without losing vection and presence can guide development for Virtual Reality games, training and treatment programmes.

Virtual Reality Technology of New Media Visual Simulation

“…In the scene production of the virtual museum tour, due to the requirement of scene authenticity, all models are completed with high precision. High-precision 3D models such as walls, war drums, murals, porcelain, bronzes, and display cabinets will lead to a declining running frame rate of the whole platform [ 18 ]. In order to solve this problem, a fixed-point triggering (FPT) method is proposed based on the combination of a simple grid and an iTweenPath plug-in in the research.…”

The Study of Virtual Reality Sensing Technology in the Form Design and Perception of Public Buildings

“…Phlmann, K. et al discuss the application of the staged approach to the whole process of participatory design. The addition of digital technology enables participatory design to be refined and concrete, and thus closer to the concept of interactive design [9]. In recent years, the application of virtual reality technology in architectural design has also developed rapidly in China; at the same time, relevant theories and research have also achieved certain progress and results [10].…”

A review of cybersickness in head-mounted displays: raising attention to individual susceptibility

“…Norouzi et al (2018) (Brument et al 2020). It may be due to the reason that the central area triggers more discomfort than the peripheral area during lateral motion (Pöhlmann et al 2021). Different methods to trigger FOV reduction were proposed in previous studies.…”

“…This may be because the vestibular system has low sensitivity to backward movements (Gallagher and Ferrè 2018). Generally, the movement along the vertical axis is tested to induce stronger cybersickness than movement along the lateral axis (Pöhlmann et al 2021;Kim and Park 2020). Researchers also made comparisons between different rotational axes as well as the effects of their combinations.…”

“…Finally, movement occurring in the peripheral vision is claimed to cause more discomfort than the movement in the central visual area (Lin et al 2002;Ren et al 2016). A recent study carried out by Pohlmann et al gained further understanding of the impact of motion direction (longitudinal axis and lateral axis), motion locus within the FOV (center within 20 degrees, periphery from 20 to 30 degrees, or far periphery from 30 to 50 degree) and their interactions on cybersickness (Pöhlmann et al 2021). Generally, stronger vection and discomfort were rated for the longitudinal axis compared to the lateral axis.…”