Like, how do you figure out how to mitigate these effects? So we really need more studies to get to that one goal to make VR accessible for many more people. Researchers are still trying to figure out why some people can adapt to this kind of VR experience quicker than others. PFEIFFER: So, Regina, what is the scientific takeaway there?īARBER: So basically, people who had no change in how they perceived things before and after - their bodies never got the time to kind of reconcile the difference between their visuals and their bodies' accelerometers. The people who changed were less sick, and it didn't matter the direction. MICHAEL BARNETT-COWAN: And then they play their game, and they come back.īARBER: And they report whether they feel sick, and they retake this visual test to see if their perception of that visual line has changed.īARNETT-COWAN: And if they didn't really change at all in those two settings, those were the people who got more sick. And they asked if that vertical line looked tilted or straight up and down. And this test involved looking at a luminous vertical line when your head is tilted, and this creates an optical illusion. And he says they asked people to take a visual test before playing a VR game for 30 minutes. ![]() So I talked to one researcher, Michael Barnett-Cowan at University of Waterloo, about this. How do scientists study this?īARBER: Yeah, so it actually is. PFEIFFER: This sounds like there could be some fun experiments involved. So scientists are trying to figure out why some people are more susceptible than others. There is just VR games and training, and there's a large population that just can't experience this because they just get too sick. PFEIFFER: So have scientists gotten interested in this because gaming has gotten so prevalent and more people end up in these virtual reality situations where they don't feel great?īARBER: Yeah, absolutely. It's why I can't read in cars, which is really frustrating when you're looking for ways to pass a lot of time, but you just end up feeling queasy.īARBER: I know. PFEIFFER: Oh, yes, this definitely happens to me. But if your visuals don't line up with what you're actually feeling, you can start to feel sick. Our bodies are actually accelerometers, and there's structures inside our ears and our joints that tell us when we're speeding up and slowing down. VR sickness, for short, is a lot like motion sickness, which I get in cars and boats when I read.īARBER: What's happening in our bodies, though, is that we're noticing inconsistencies between what we're seeing and what our bodies are feeling. Is that similar to motion sickness?īARBER: Yeah. PFEIFFER: Let's start with that last one first, virtual reality sickness. ![]() ![]() We've got kind of a fitness, recreation, health theme going on today, so I hope you're ready to become your best self.īARBER: Yeah, we've got stories about counting steps, ice baths and something known as virtual reality sickness. ![]() You have picked out three science stories for us to hear more about this week. So, Emily and Regina, the two of you have been combing through headlines, journals, social media. Hi to both of you.ĮMILY KWONG, BYLINE: Sacha, so good to be with you. Emily Kwong and Regina Barber host the podcast, and they're here now for our biweekly science roundup. Time now for some science news with our friends at NPR's science podcast Short Wave.
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