A Pilot-Study into a Novel Application for Inducing and Studying Visually-Induced Motion Sickness in a VR environment

This study presents a digital solution for inducing visually-induced motion sickness (VIMS) using a head-mounted display (HMD) in a virtual environment. By digitally replicating off vertical axis rotation by adopting the Epley Omniax Chair, we induce sensory conflicts between the visual and vestibular systems through rotational vection, alongside optokinetic stimulation inspired by the Optoki-netic Drum (OKD). A secondary goal of the application is to experiment with methods for mitigating cybersickness. Self-reported data via the visual induced motion sickness questionnare (VIMSSQ) and motion sickness severity scale (MSSS) from a randomised experiment on 30 participants (10 female, 20 male) show that the application reliably induces cybersickness and can apply mitigating methods. From these findings we can confidently conclude that the application can be used as a VIMS-inducing tool.