Simulator Sickness in a Virtual Environments Driving Simulator

Some users of virtual environments experience adverse effects known as simulator sickness. Common symptoms are generally grouped into nausea, oculomotor discomfort, and disorientation. This research examined whether the severity and type of simulator sickness differs due to the type of driving environment or the gender of the driver. Three environments with variations in driver workload were developed: Highway, Rural, and City. Tests were conducted using Northeastern University’s Virtual Driving Simulator. The Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) and postural stability tests, were used to gather data before and after participants drove the virtual environments based driving simulator. In comparison with past research, a different SSQ profile was found in that most of the symptoms reported were in the oculomotor discomfort category. This included eye strain, headaches, difficulty focusing, and blurred vision. Subjects who drove the Highway or Rural Road environments had more symptoms than those who drove the City environment. This indicates that vehicle velocity may be a factor in driving simulator sickness since subjects drove 60 mph in the Highway and Rural Road environments, but only 25 mph in the City environment. In both the before and after tests, females had less postural stability than males. Females also had a greater increase in oculomotor discomfort symptoms than males. Additional research is needed to determine why females experience more simulator sickness than males.