Simulator sickness
Simulator sickness is a subset of
- It can distract the pilot during training sessions.
- It can cause the pilot to adopt certain counterproductive behaviors to prevent symptoms from occurring.
Simulator sickness can also have post-training effects that can compromise safety after the simulator session, such as when the pilots drive away from the facility or fly while experiencing symptoms of simulator sickness.
Origins
Though human-piloted
Two main theories exist about the causes of simulator sickness.
The second theory for simulator sickness identifies
At present, it is accurate to say that both—and neither—of these theories are yet adequate to fully explain and predict simulator sickness. Although it is clear which types of pilots are affected by it, and both sensory conflict theory and postural instability theory relate its onset with certain physiological conflicts, neither theory suffices to predict why these specific conflicts (vision vs. vestibular on the one hand, posture vs. control on the other) elicit sickness in the subject. Additional possibilities for elicitation of motion sickness in general (including simulator sickness) include gaze destabilization, which is disrupted if the
Effect of experience in the real and simulated environments
While anyone can experience simulator sickness, studies in
In 1989, the US Army released a report detailing the results of a study examining simulator sickness in
Research suggests that this is the body's natural way of adjusting to these systems. The bodies of experienced pilots have adapted to different types of motion experienced during actual flight conditions. When placed into a flight simulator, visual and other stimuli cause their bodies to expect the same motions associated with actual flight conditions. However, their bodies instead experience the imperfect motion of the simulator, resulting in sickness.
A similar situation can arise for pilots who have long gaps between simulator uses. During simulation training, the body will eventually adapt to the environment to diminish the effects of simulator sickness. However, when long periods of time are spent outside of the simulator, the body is not able to adequately adapt and symptoms will reappear.[5]
Often, adaptation is the single most effective solution to simulator sickness. For most individuals, adaptation can occur within only a few sessions, with only a minority of individuals (3–5 percent) never being able to adapt. This adaptation occurs within the psyche of the individual with repeated, controlled exposures, without any required alteration to the simulator. Through incremental exposures, dispersed regularly over a series of days, adaptation can occur faster than that of an abrupt all-encompassing exposure. However, following adaptation to the novel simulator motion environment, simulator sickness symptoms can reoccur with a return to the former environment. For this reason, simulator sickness is commonly referred to as a phenomenon of maladaptation sickness, due to incessant conflict between current and past environmental conditions.[1] In flight training, this phenomenon can be a safety concern where it may lead to motion sickness hindering pilot performance in the real aircraft following flight simulator training.
Measurement
The Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) is currently the standard for measuring simulator sickness. The SSQ was developed based upon 1,119 pairs of pre-exposure/post-exposure scores from data that were collected and reported earlier.
The SSQ is a self-report symptom checklist. It includes 16 symptoms that are associated with simulator sickness. Participants indicate the level of severity of these symptoms that they are experiencing currently. For each symptom there are four levels of severity (none, slight, moderate, severe). The SSQ provides a Total Severity score as well as scores for three subscales (Nausea, Oculomotor, and Disorientation). The Total Severity score is a composite created from the three subscales. It is the best single measure because it provides an index of the overall symptoms. The three subscales provide diagnostic information about particular symptom categories:
- sweating, nausea, stomach awareness, and burping.
- Oculomotor subscale includes symptoms such as eyestrain, and difficulty focusing.
- Disorientation subscale is composed of symptoms such as vertigo, dizzy (eyes open), dizzy (eyes closed), and blurred vision.
The three subscales are not orthogonal to one another. There is a general factor common to all of them. Nonetheless, the subscales provide differential information about participants' experience of symptoms and are useful for determining the particular pattern of discomfort produced by a given simulator. All scores have as their lowest level a natural zero (no symptoms) and increase with increasing symptoms reported.[4]
In some cases, the Motion Sickness Assessment Questionnaire (MSAQ) has also been used to evaluate simulator sickness, despite its focus on motion sickness.[8]
Gaming motion sickness
Many video
References
- ^ a b c d e Johnson, David. "Introduction to and Review of Simulator Sickness Research" (PDF). Research Report 1832. U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 7, 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- S2CID 30662436.
- ^ "Combating VR Sickness: Debunking Myths And Learning What Really Works". ARVI Games.
- ^ a b James R. Lackner, Motion Sickness, http://www.brandeis.edu/graybiel/publications/docs/190_ms_encns.pdf. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- ^ a b Gower, D.W. (1989). Simulator Sickness in the UH-60 (Black Hawk) Flight Simulator), USAARL Report No. 89-25 (PDF). United States Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory.
- PMID 2818393.
- .
- PMID 20380904.
- ^ "In defense of asset flips on Steam". 12 July 2018.
- ^ "TotalBiscuit: A Gaming YouTuber Who Championed the Rights of Consumers".
- ^ "Splatoon 2 Designer Explains Why the Maps Rotate and Salmon Run is Time-Limited". 6 September 2017.
- ^ "Motion Sickness in Video Games - is It Normal?". 25 October 2021.
- ^ "Game accessibility guidelines | if the game uses field of view (3D engine only), set an appropriate default for the expected viewing environment".
- ^ "How to Stop Getting Motion Sickness Playing Video Games". 11 February 2020.
- ^ "Splatoon 2 Designer Explains Why the Maps Rotate and Salmon Run is Time-Limited". 6 September 2017.
- ^ "Why Video Games Make You Feel Sick (And What You Can do About It)".
- ^ "Cure Motion Sickness of Video Games Stop Headaches 2022". 29 July 2022.
- ^ "Why do video games make some people feel sick?". 22 November 2021.