Estimating the sensorimotor components of cybersickness

Abstract

The user base of the virtual reality (VR) medium is growing, and many of these users will experience cybersickness. Accounting for the vast inter-individual variability in cybersickness forms a pivotal step in solving the issue. Most studies of cybersickness focus on a single factor (e.g., balance, sex, vection), while other contributors are overlooked. Here, we characterize the complex relationship between cybersickness and several indices of sensorimotor processing. In a single session, we conducted a battery of tests of balance control, vection responses, and vestibular sensitivity to self-motion. A principal components regression model, primarily composed of balance control measures during vection, significantly predicted 37% of the variability in cybersickness measures. We observed strong, inverse associations between measures of sway and cybersickness. The results reiterate that the relationship between balance control and cybersickness is anything but straightforward. We discuss other factors that may account for the remaining variance in cybersickness.