I-Corps: Motion Sickness Mitigation in Vehicles

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a motion sickness mitigation technology for passengers in moving vehicles. Any passenger in a moving vehicle is subject to inertial forces associated with accelerations (e.g., speeding up, braking, turning, etc.). These inertial forces cause the passenger’s head and body to sway, which along with visual inputs, may lead to motion sickness and discomfort. One in three adults in the US is prone to motion sickness in moving vehicles. The goal of this project is to validate the need and commercial potential of a new motion sickness mitigation technology for the automotive and trucking industries that makes use of predictive algorithms to anticipate impending actions of a moving vehicle and their impact on the passenger. This I-Corps project is based on the development of a novel technology that makes use of predictive algorithms that employ real-time and historical data to predict the actions of moving vehicles, specifically those actions that lead to passenger discomfort and motion sickness. These predictions may be used to provide preemptive cues to the passenger via auditory, visual, and/or haptic stimuli to make them aware of the impending motion events. The goal of this research is to determine which combination of these cues and what time horizon of preemption is ideally suited to provide the passenger sufficient forewarning that can lower motion sickness. Preliminary results have shown the efficacy of such preemptive cues under specific conditions. This project may enable the development and testing of key hypotheses related to commercialization of this motion sickness mitigation technology in the automotive and trucking industries. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.