DIY Cybersickness Remedies

Despite advances in headset hardware and thoughtful software design, virtual reality can still be a nauseating, dizzying, and sweaty experience for some people. From horrific rides on virtual roller coasters to alarming leaps withBeat Saber, you don’t have to talk to many people before someone shares a vomit-inducing experience. As a psychologist at York St John University, in the United Kingdom, I specialize in how wearers react to VR, and so have been in a prime position to observe the evolving approaches to the problem of cybersickness. Significant progress in hardware—including improved field of view, higher resolution, and reduced latency—haven’t completely solved the issues. Software designs like adding virtual noses in the display, visual attention tasks aimed at redirecting the user’s focus, and enhanced visual realism have all shown promise in the lab but have proven frustratingly difficult to replicate consistently in the real world. But a new wave of research may take the ... Read full article.