A simulation sickness study on a driving simulator equipped with a vibration platform

Guillaume Lucas (1, 2) , Andras Kemeny (1, 2) , Damien Paillot (2) , Florent Colombet (3)

1 Technocentre Renault [Guyancourt]
2 LISPEN - Laboratoire d’Ingénierie des Systèmes Physiques et Numériques
3 AVSimulation - AVSimulation

Simulator sickness is a well-known side effect of driving simulation which may reduce the passenger well-being and performance due to its various symptoms, from pallor to vomiting. Numerous reducing countermeasures have been previously tested; however, they often have undesirable side effects. The present study investigated the possible effect of seat vibrations on simulator sickness. Three configurations were tested: no vibrations, realistic ones and some that might affect the proprioception. Twenty-nine participants were exposed to the three configurations on a four-minute long automated driving in a simulator equipped with a vibration platform. Simulator sickness was estimated thanks to the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) and to a postural instability measure. Results showed that vibrations help to reduce the sickness. Our findings demonstrate that some specific vibration configurations may have a positive impact on the sickness, thus confirming the usefulness of devices reproducing the road vibrations in addition to creating more immersion for the driver.

Mots clés: Driving simulation; Simulator sickness; Motion sickness; Vibrations

Domaines: Synthèse d'image et réalité virtuelle [cs.GR]; Interface homme-machine [cs.HC]

Guillaume Lucas, Andras Kemeny, Damien Paillot, Florent Colombet. A simulation sickness study on a driving simulator equipped with a vibration platform. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 2020, 68, pp.15-22. ⟨hal-02432441⟩