Internal and external fields of view affect cybersickness

People playing computer games sometimes experience a form of visually induced motion sickness called cybersickness. This phenomenon poses a problem for the entertainment market as well as the practice of training, where serious gaming is gaining acceptance as a new way of training. Although cybersickness can be considered a multifactor problem, the present study focused on the role of Field-of-View (FOV) only and varied two types of FOV in an experiment: external FOV (determined by screen size and viewing distance) and internal FOV (virtual camera angle). For 50 min, we exposed participants to moving imagery generated by a game engine, which generally yielded measurable effects on a misery rating scale. Contrary to what might be assumed, more sickness occurred in conditions where internal and external FOV were congruent than otherwise. We also found a negative effect of cybersickness on postural stability. Finally, we found that on average the severity of cybersickness was less in each succeeding session, pointing to habituation.

Research highlights► External and Internal FOV both affect the incidence of cybersickness. ► Severity of sickness is maximized when iFOV and eFOV are congruent. ► Cybersickness negatively affects postural stability. ► Over time, subjects’ response to provoking stimuli decreased.