Columbia Univ & vMotion – tools against sim-sickness
They have discovered that by restricting the field of view of one eye as the images are creating the impression of motion the brain becomes less susceptible to dizziness (watch the first clip).
This approach seems to work, however it is not a real solution. It would be much better if a VR system could provide a full, coherent, slate of sensory information. That is send to the brain motion sensations from the proprioceptors. It would seem impossible, at first glance, unless you are going to experience the VR in a sort of vehicle that through simulated motion can affect your proprioceptors. This is what is being done in professional flight simulators, the ones used to train pilots. These are very complex and very expensive systems that for sure we cannot think of having back home.
Here comes vMotion, a company that is using the discovery made at Mayo Clinics on the effects of Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation, GVS.
This approach should provide a better sensation and should further decrease dizziness when using VR systems. On the downside whilst the Columbia approach can be embedded in the VR system itself, the GVS requires an additional equipment. Samsung has announced a set of headphones, Entrim 4D, that exploits GVS to provide a senso of motion (watch the third clip).
It is interesting to see how entangled is ICT with bioengineering when the goal is to communicate with our brain. This is an area that is being addressed by the Digital Sense Initiative at IEEE.
See the full story here: https://www.eitdigital.eu/blog/article/feeling-dizzy-with-virtual-reality/