Virtual Reality simulation to evaluate motion sickness mitigation techniques for autonomous vehicles

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are widely believed to represent the next crucial step in innovation within the transportation industry. With the first generations of conditionally autonomous cars already being commercialized, fully autonomous prototypes undergoing tests, and research activity on the topic continuously growing in the last decade, the development of this technology is set to become increasingly impactful. Along with the benefits in terms of logistics, traffic, safety, and environment, one of the key novelties that AVs are expected to bring is the conversion of their occupants’ role from drivers to passengers. This change will open the opportunity for Non-Driving Related Tasks (NDRTs) to be carried out freely during rides, radically changing the concept of how time can be spent while travelling in terms of both entertainment and productivity. There is, however, one detrimental aspect that could potentially hinder NDRTs’ feasibility and, therefore, restrain acceptance and expectations towards AVs in general: motion sickness (MS). This is why, in recent years, research has begun to focus on how the experience of AV rides and the occurrence of MS are mutually influenced by one another, and various solutions to mitigate MS have started to be developed and tested. This thesis work aims to tackle this research field, which is still lacking in standardization and widely unexplored, preparing the ground for comparing different mitigations techniques with the ultimate goal of contributing to the realization of smart infotainment systems that will render the possibility to engage in NDRTs possible for everyone in the future. To reach this goal, firstly the MS mitigation techniques devised so far have been collected, studied and categorized to elaborate the state of the art in the field. Then, a motion platform-enabled driving simulator in immersive VR, already in use for research work on AVs, has been adapted to be used as a standard framework for MS mitigation studies. A virtual handheld device for supporting NDRTs as well as different mitigation techniques have been implemented in the simulation, to allow for comparisons under controlled and repeatable conditions. Finally, the protocol for the experimental evaluation has been designed and a preliminary comparison between visual, on-screen techniques is presented.