You can train your brain to reduce motion sickness

Visual space training exercises can train the brain to reduce motion sickness, providing potential treatment for future passengers in autonomous vehicles. WMG researchers at the University of Warwick have found that training tools have been used to reduce motion sickness by more than 50% and are effective in both driving simulators and road experiments. WMG 3xD Simulator at the University of Warwick

Everyone can experience motion sickness, and one in three of us is very sensitive to motion sickness. Motion sickness, also known as motion sickness, usually occurs while traveling by car or boat, but it also occurs when using a virtual reality headset or simulator.

As the concept of self-driving cars gets closer to the road, the need to reduce motion sickness is more apparent than ever. Motion sickness is expected to be an important factor for vehicle occupants due to the potential vehicle design and the desire of people to engage in non-driving-related tasks such as reading and watching movies.

In fact, if we significantly reduce motion sickness and allow people to read and work in future cars, this productivity gain is projected to reach $ 580 billion annually, according to Morgan Stanley.

Given the number of people affected, little research has been done on motion sickness, especially on motion sickness and self-driving cars.

However, in the paper “New ways to reduce motion sickness through training in visual spatial ability-a two-part study”, the journal Applied ergonomicsWMG researchers at the University of Warwick have been successful in reducing motion sickness.

In the project, researchers found that using visuospatial training could essentially train the brain and reduce motion sickness by more than 50%.

Participants in the study participated in a WMG 3xD simulator for a driving simulator trial, or an on-road trial driven as a passenger, mimicking what they were doing in a self-driving car.

Baseline motion sickness was first measured on the first ride using a pre-validated questionnaire to report the severity of symptoms. Participants were asked to rate their illness every minute on a scale of 0 to 20 considering nausea, discomfort, and stomach problems, so the “fast-moving illness scale” also had “real-time” symptoms Used to capture. Examples of visual space movements Part of the Vandenberg and Kuse mental rotation test

After the first run, participants completed various pen and paper visual space training tasks once a day for 15 minutes a day for two weeks. This includes exercises such as looking at the box pattern, identifying which of the three images is the original image that was just rotated, a paper folding task, and understanding spatial patterns.

After the training period, participants participated in another motion sickness assessment, which was recorded to be reduced by 51% in a driving simulator and 58% in an on-road trial.

Dr. Joseph Smyth of the University of Warwick WMG commented:

“Using simple’brain training style’tasks to reduce an individual’s susceptibility to motion sickness is a major step forward in the development of future transportation systems, including autonomous vehicles. A study of human factors is all about how we can design Motion sickness has long been a major limitation of transportation for many people, and this study is to address this. It shows a new method.

“I hope we can optimize our training in a short and highly impactful way in the future. When someone is waiting for a test drive in a new self-driving car, sit in the showroom and perform a’brain training puzzle’. Imagine you can use your tablet before you get out of the car to reduce your risk of illness. This method is also likely to be used in other areas such as seasickness for naval personnel and cruise passengers. I am particularly excited to apply this new discovery. For the use of virtual reality headsets “

Jaguar Land Rover’s Pete Bennett commented:

“It’s important to make future self-driving cars as user-friendly as possible. We know that motion sickness needs to be studied as many people still experience motion sickness as passengers. I did.

“A study conducted by WMG has shown that motion sickness can be reduced. This study can be incorporated into future vehicle design processes.”

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Readable paper: https: //www.sciencedirect.When/Science/paper/pii /S000368702030212X? dgcid =Author

Alice Scott

Media Relations Manager-Science

University of Warwick

Phone: +44 (0) 7920 531 221

Email: [email protected]