Motion sickness detection and mitigation in a stop-and-go passenger ride scenario

While automated and electric vehicles are introduced on public roads, their users may face an increase in motion sickness while traveling. In a within-subjects design reproducing a realistic stop-and-go ride scenario, 30 participants were driven for 18 minutes (6 laps) on the front passenger seat of a saloon vehicle driven full electric. The first three laps (induction phase) consisted in provoking motion sickness while making participants focus on a cognitive videogame on a handheld tablet. In the remaining three laps (alleviation phase), participants quitted their activity and gazed outside the vehicle to alleviate their symptoms. In the intervention condition, an “anti-motion sickness” function was assessed during the alleviation phase. This function combined visual motion cues with a reclined sitting position, relaxing music, fragrance, and ventilation pulses of oxygen-enriched air. Rank based ANOVA and generalized linear model analyses revealed a significant effect of the intervention condition. Specifically, there was a 35 % reduction in motion sickness symptoms compared to the control condition, where participants alleviated the symptoms by solely gazing out of the window. Both motion-susceptible and motion-resistant participants evaluated the system positively. In addition, analyses of physiological measurements revealed significant relationships between heart rate and peripheral oxygen saturation with the progression of subjective motion sickness scores. These findings delve into the feasibility of a low intrusive solution to mitigate motion sickness in passenger cars and the potential of detecting the rise of symptoms based on the combination of subjective and physiological measurements.