Analysis of Visual and Vestibular Information on Motion Sickness in Flight Simulation

Virtual reality (VR) is in its nascent technological advancement and market diffusion stages. Interestingly, the scientific exploration concerning the impact of non-isometric mapping disparities within visual–vestibular stimuli on motion sickness remains deficient. This investigation focuses on scrutinizing the visual–vestibular implications for motion sickness within the context of flight simulation. The developed motion platform, offering specific pitch and roll ranges of ±16 and ±17 degrees, respectively, was employed to induce varying ratios of simulated visual–vestibular cues. Involving a cohort of five participants, the study exposed them to two prevalent simulated mission profiles, subsequently assessing their motion sickness symptoms. Sixty responses were analyzed using the subjective assessment of the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ). The findings reveal a reduction in cybersickness severity with congruent visual–vestibular stimuli in proportion to the variance observed among visual–vestibular coupling ratios. A comparative analysis of SSQ sub-categories demonstrates that disorientation holds the most significance in the hierarchy of motion sickness contributors, followed by oculomotor discomfort, with nausea manifesting as the least influential. This study can lead to situation awareness analysis by integrating VR-based flight-simulation setups in the formal training of pilots and UAV operators.