Towards non-disruptive visual motion cues that balance motion sickness against distraction for passenger VR

Qiu, Zhanyan (2025) Towards non-disruptive visual motion cues that balance motion sickness against distraction for passenger VR. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Using Virtual Reality (VR) technology in moving vehicles holds great potential to enhance the passenger experience and support innovative Non-Driving Related Tasks (NDRTs). However, VR usage in vehicles presents significant challenges due to motion sickness. This condition often arises from a sensory mismatch between visually perceived motion and the vestibular system’s input. This problem is especially pronounced when passengers engage with immersive VR environments while in transit as the VR visual cues are often in contradiction to vestibular cues. Consequently, current VR experiences tend to rely on matched motion cues, meaning experiences where the virtual movements mirror the real movements of the vehicle. While matched visual motion cues that align with optic flow can effectively reduce sensory conflict and mitigate motion sickness, they often impose constraints that may distract users from their primary tasks in VR. Moreover, the requirement for matched cues significantly limits design flexibility, constraining the diversity of VR scene designs. To address these issues, this thesis investigates alternative visual cue designs that move beyond the traditional approach of the VR scene matching visual motion. These novel cues reduce motion sickness by minimizing sensory mismatch without replicating optic flow, thereby reducing distraction and enabling non-disruptive visual motion cues. This thesis addresses two primary types of vehicle motion: rotational and linear. In terms of rotational motion, innovative cues were validated through four studies, ranging from implicitly manipulating the movements of existing virtual interfaces to explicitly presenting virtual objects that react to the forces experienced by the vehicle. For linear motion, visual cues that represent vehicle accelerations rather than velocity changes (as used in traditional matchedmotion cues) were tested in two studies in real driving environments. By comparing user motion sickness ratings and distraction levels with those of solutions commonly used in the field, these designs demonstrated their ability to strike a balance between mitigating motion sickness and minimizing distraction from NDRTs. This thesis contributes novel insights into how visual motion perception, beyond simple matched motion cues, can improve passenger VR experience without inducing motion sickness. By strategically designing to reduce the motion sickness associated with VR use and integrating VR devices into vehicles, this research also underscores the importance of minimally distracting cues to enhance the overall user experience, which will become a vital component of future vehicles interactions.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: T Technology > T Technology (General)
• Colleges/Schools: College of Science and Engineering > School of Computing Science
• Supervisor's Name: Brewster, Professor Stephen
• Date of Award: 2025
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2025-85518
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 15 Oct 2025 11:09
• Last Modified: 17 Oct 2025 08:30
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.85518
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/85518

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