This research studied the effects of navigation speed on the level of motion sickness during and after a 30-min head-steered virtual environment. Root-mean-squares for 8 speeds in the fore-and-aft axis were 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 24, 30, and 59 m/s. 96 Chinese men participated. Both nausea and vection ratings increased significantly with speeds increasing from 3 m/s-10 m/s. At speeds exceeding 10 m/s, the ratings stabilized. Navigation speeds were found to significantly affect the onset times of vection and nausea but did not affect their rates of increase with duration of exposure. For the various Simulator Sickness Questionnaire scores, navigation speed had a significant influence on only the oculomotor subscore. Actual or potential applications of this work include the prediction of sickness associated with simulation tours in a virtual environment at different navigation speeds.
Abstract