Effects of unlimited angular motion cue and cue discrepancy on simulator sickness

Abstract

Simulator sickness is a crucial concern undermining several benefits of simulator training, such as a realistic environment, low costs, and safe practice of emergencies. This study investigated the effects of unbounded angular motions and visual-vestibular cue discrepancies on simulator sickness for flight simulator training. Human subject experiments with 36 participants demonstrated that simulator sickness, measured by question-naires and physiological signals, was significantly decreased by offering both motion and visual cues rather than visual signals alone (p < 0.05). Specifically, nausea (without motion = 54.59, with motion = 31.27; p = 0.036) and disorientation scores (without motion = 81.20, with motion = 44.08; p = 0.028) significantly decreased when both motion and visual signals were present. Furthermore, the experimental results showed a significant correlation between simulator sickness and visual-vestibular cue mismatches, particularly for the angular ve-locity along the z-axis (r = 0.110, p = 0.04). The pitch angle discrepancy (r = 0.156, p = 0.004) between the visual and motion cues was significantly correlated with the sickness severity, unlike the roll angle disparity (r =-0.009, p = 0.871). The results from this study can be explored for flight training operations using motion simulators to minimize or eliminate simulator sickness.