WORKSHOP: Research Roadmap for Virtual Reality Sim Sickness

Iowa State University, Ames IA

Investigators

Abstract

Virtual reality has been around for more than 20 years, but only recently have companies begun to market consumer virtual reality headsets thereby bringing virtual environments to more people than ever before. The widespread use of this technology has rekindled interest in cybersickness, a problem that has been known and studied since the early days of computer simulation. The term refers to a cluster of symptoms associated with spending time in a computer generated environment. Most people are susceptible if immersed for enough time in a virtual environment; symptoms range from a brief bout of nausea to several hours or even days of feeling dizzy and disoriented. This is funding to support a workshop of 25-30 experts from academia and industry, who will meet for 1.5 days in Spring 2017, on the campus of Design Interactive, Inc. in Orlando, Florida, to tackle the problem of cybersickness from all angles with the goal of successfully bringing virtual reality to the wider audience. Broader impacts are expected to ultimately include significant advances in medical training, therapy for PTSD, driver safety, and education. By bringing together leaders in medical research, technology R&D, and industry, the workshop will lay out a roadmap to determine the cause(s) of cybersickness and how it can be prevented. The discussions will both guide future research and build new partnerships between academia and industry. Four topics will be addressed: the causes of cybersickness, how to best measure the symptoms, how the symptoms might be mitigated, and what factors determine an individual's susceptibility. Breakout groups will propose a project for each of these areas that will be developed into a cohesive interdisciplinary proposal that will bridge the gap between research and development. Workshop outcomes will include a final report summarizing the discussions, a website synthesizing relevant research, and outlines of publications to be included in a special issue of the journal PRESENCE.