Real Walking Increases Simulator Sickness in Navigationally Complex Virtual Environments

We report on a study in which we investigate the effects of travel technique on simulator sickness in a real and virtual environment. Participants explored either a real maze or a virtual maze using either natural walking or simulated walking. Reported scores for measures of overall simulator sickness, disorientation, nausea, and occulomotor discomfort were all higher in the natural walking condition than either the simulated walking or real world conditions. This indicates that simulated walking is a better choice for reducing simulator sickness during tasks requiring a navigationally complex environment and a long amount of time.