Researchers record brain waves to measure ‘cybersickness’

[The University of Maryland’s Maryland Today reports on a new study that correlated EEG and real-time self-reports of cybersickness during a virtual reality experience (the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire was also administered after the session). More details are in the published article in Virtual Reality; here’s the final paragraph:

Our findings in this paper are just a first step to the many opportunities that present themselves in using EEG to study cybersickness in virtual environments. Some of the more important amongst these include a better understanding of the sources of cybersickness, the relationship of the duration of immersion to cybersickness, and the effect of age and gender on cybersickness. A number of cybersickness mitigation strategies have been studied over the last decade, but their evaluation has been largely based on questionnaires at the end of the immersive experience. As virtual environments grow in importance across a variety of applications (Krokos et al. 2018, 2019), an exciting direction of future work is in continuous evaluation of the effectiveness of cybersickness mitigation strategies, while the user is immersed in the virtual world. In our study, the participants were not asked to perform a task. It would be interesting to explore what effect if any, task performance has on cybersickness. Finally, it will be highly desirable, if at all possible, to move toward standards of assessing cybersickness and to use them to rate hardware (headsets, trackers, and displays) as well as the content (games, performances, and other immersive experiences).

–Matthew]

[Image: A test subject experiences a potentially stomach-churning virtual reality fly through of a space station while her brain activity is monitored. Credit: Photo courtesy of Maryland Blended Reality Center]

Researchers Record Brain Waves to Measure ‘Cybersickness’

Better Understanding of VR-Induced Discomfort Could Broaden Tech’s Reach

By Maria Herd
July 7, 2021

If a virtual world has ever left you feeling nauseous or disorientated, you’re familiar with cybersickness, and you’re hardly alone. The intensity of virtual reality (VR)—whether that’s standing on the edge of a waterfall in Yosemite or engaging in tank combat with your friends—creates a stomach-churning challenge for 30-80% of users.

In a first-of-its kind study, researchers at the University of Maryland recorded VR users’ brain activity using electroencephalography (EEG) to better understand and work toward solutions to cybersickness. The research conducted by computer science alum Eric Krokos ’13, M.S. ’15, Ph.D ’18, and Amitabh Varshney, a professor of computer science and dean of the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences was published recently in the journal Virtual Reality.

The term cybersickness derives from motion sickness, but instead of physical movement, it’s the perception of movement in a virtual environment that triggers physical symptoms such as nausea and disorientation. While there are several theories about why it occurs, the lack of a systematic, quantified way of studying cybersickness has hampered progress that could help make VR accessible to a broader population.

Krokos and Varshney are among the first to use EEG—which records brain activity through sensors on the scalp—to measure and quantify cybersickness for VR users, and were able to establish a correlation between the recorded brain activity and self-reported symptoms of their participants. The work provides a new benchmark—helping cognitive psychologists, game developers and physicians as they seek to learn more about cybersickness and how to alleviate it.

“Establishing a strong correlation between cybersickness and EEG-measured brain activity is the first step toward interactively characterizing and mitigating cybersickness, and improving the VR experience for all,” Varshney said.

EEG headsets have been widely used to measure motion sickness, but prior research on cybersickness has relied on users to accurately recall their symptoms through questionnaires filled out after users have removed their headsets and left the immersive environment.

The UMD researchers said that such methods provide only qualitative data that makes it difficult to assess in real time which movements or attributes of the virtual environment are affecting users.

Another complication is that not all people suffer from the same physical symptoms when experiencing cybersickness, and cybersickness may not be the only cause of these symptoms.

Without the existence of a reliable tool to measure and interactively quantify cybersickness, understanding and mitigating it remains a challenge, said Varshney, a leading researcher in immersive technologies and co-director of the Maryland Blended Reality Center.

For the UMD study, participants were fitted with both a VR headset and an EEG recording device, then experienced a minute-long virtual fly-through of a futuristic spaceport. The simulation included quick drops and gyrating turns designed to evoke a moderate degree of cybersickness.

Participants also self-reported their level of discomfort in real time with a joystick. This helped the researchers identify which segments of the fly-through intensified users’ symptoms.

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, the state of Maryland’s MPowering the State Initiative and the NVIDIA CUDA Center of Excellence program.

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