Jonathan Kelly, an Iowa State University professor of psychology and human-computer interaction, is leading a research study into “cybersickness,” a set of symptoms similar to motion sickness that more than half of people experience when first exposed to virtual reality. He said helping people adapt to VR and overcome symptoms would allow the technology to be used more widely.
“We know people can adapt to sea sickness through repeated exposures. After several days on a boat, they’ll start to feel better,” Kelly said in a news release. “My research team and I want to figure out to what extent people can adapt to cybersickness and whether their adaptation in one VR experience can carry over to others.”
According to the release, a study with 150 undergraduate students indicated symptoms improve with three 20-minute sessions of VR over a week, but a higher percentage of women and people who are prone to motion sickness have a harder time adapting to cybersickness and different VR environments.