Extreme Responses to Virtual Environment Exposure

An emetic response (a.k.a. vomiting) is certainly one of the most extreme responses to virtual environment (VE) exposure. This unpleasant response is thankfully quite rare (approximately 1–2%) but when it does occur, the individuals afflicted are generally quite distraught that something that looks akin to watching television can have such adverse consequences. This paper examines the experiences of individuals who have had an emetic response during or after VE exposure. An effort is made to both identify factors that may predict who vomits and characterize the extent of symptoms they experience. Results indicate that VE system designers may be able to reduce emetic response rates by streamlining user movement control and simplifying visual scene content. The results also indicate it may prove difficult with current measures to predict who will experience an emetic response.

[1]  Kay M. Stanney,et al.  Postural instability induced by virtual reality exposure: Development of a certification protocol , 1996, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Interact..

[2]  Robert S. Kennedy,et al.  Simulator Sickness Questionnaire: An enhanced method for quantifying simulator sickness. , 1993 .

[3]  Frank Biocca,et al.  Will Simulation Sickness Slow Down the Diffusion of Virtual Environment Technology? , 1992, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[4]  Julie M. Drexler,et al.  Motion sickness and proprioceptive aftereffects following virtual environment exposure. , 1999, Applied ergonomics.

[5]  Randy F. Pausch,et al.  A Literature Survey for Virtual Environments: Military Flight Simulator Visual Systems and Simulator Sickness , 1992, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[6]  James P. Bliss,et al.  The Virtual Environment Performance Assessment Battery (VEPAB):Development and Evaluation1 , 1994, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[7]  Michael E. McCauley,et al.  Cybersickness: Perception of Self-Motion in Virtual Environments , 1992, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[8]  Jennifer E. Fowlkes,et al.  Simulator Sickness Is Polygenic and polysymptomatic: Implications for Research , 1992 .

[9]  Michael J. Singer,et al.  Measuring Presence in Virtual Environments: A Presence Questionnaire , 1998, Presence.

[10]  Gavriel Salvendy,et al.  Aftereffects and Sense of Presence in Virtual Environments: Formulation of a Research and Development Agenda , 1998, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Interact..