POTENTIAL DESIGN ETIOLOGICAL FACTORS OF SIMULATOR SICKNESS AND A RESEARCH SIMULATOR SPECIFICATION

In this paper is addressed the problem of vehicular simulator-induced sickness from the standpoint of simulator design etiological factors. A brief discussion of engineering design characteristics that exhibit potential for contributing to simulator sickness is presented. This discussion draws from studies performed on simulators to date along with other pertinent perceptual distortion literature and documentation of specific simulator problems. Potential etiological factors that are discussed include control loop lags and delays, control loading and damping, dynamic inaccuracies, fixed-base versus motion-base issues, illusory motion techniques, anomalous motion cues, motion enhancement devices, visual generation systems, field-of-view, scene detail and visual motion, dynamic imaging problems, display distortions, and cockpit environment factors. It is clear that many of these factors may interact in their influence on simulator sickness in a manner that is difficult to predict. On the basis of these potential etiological factors, basic requirements needed in a generic simulator research facility to investigate simulator engineering design influences on sickness are suggested.