Cybersickness Marker Prediction Using a Biosensors-Instrumented VR Headset: A Pilot Study

Cybersickness is a major concern in virtual reality (VR) experiences. Understanding and quantifying this phenomenon is essential to improve user comfort and enhance the overall VR experience. In this study, we explore the use of a custom-built por table VR headset equipped with multimodal biosensors to develop markers of cybersickness. The headset can record/stream electroencephalography (EEG), electrooculography (EOG), electrocardiography (ECG), and head movement data in real-time. A pilot experiment with eight participants was conducted where, at the end of a VR session at the gamers’ homes, participants rated their cybersickness symptoms across eight dimensions: headache, eyestrain, increased salivation and sweat, nausea, fullness of the head, dizziness with eyes open, and vertigo. From the collected biosignals, a series of features were extracted, ranked and explored as uni-or multi-modal markers for the different cybersickness ratings. Overall, it was found that EEG features were useful as correlates of vertigo, dizziness, and increased sweat, while head movements for nausea and headache. When multimodal markers were explored, improved cybersickness characterization was achieved for seven of the eight ratings. It is hoped that these findings will help researchers to better understand cybersickness and offers ways to improve the VR experience for users.