New System Could Prevent Motion Sickness in Self-Driving Cars

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rgMekanic

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The University of Michigan has patented a new system that could prevent motion sickness while riding in self-driving cars. the article states that the main cause of motion sickness is a conflict between vestibular and visual inputs when not watching the road while in a moving vehicle. And there researchers have developed a countermeasure system to provide light stimuli in the visual periphery.

While personally I'm not looking forward to self driving cars, I can see this being a problem that must be overcome for it to be ultimately successful. But I have to wonder, with all the staring at phones people are doing while driving or being a passenger, are we not already conditioning ourselves to combat this?

Sivak said that about half of adults get motion sick at times when reading a book in a moving vehicle.
"This is more important with the introduction of autonomous vehicles," said Sivak, a research professor at UMTRI. "In autonomous cars, everyone will be a passenger. So you will have a larger potential pool of sick people. The protection that drivers have received from driving won't be there anymore."
 
Wait soo.... in non-autonomous cars there are no passengers? OR what about other forms of transportation that have existed forever like bus, train, metro, ferry, etc? seems like the "autonomous" part is just a grab for attention...
 
I always drive if at all possible as I'm prone to motion sickness if not the driver..

I absolutely detest the idea of self driving cars..

I get quite queasy on buses or trains also.. (buses more so for whatever reasons..)
 
I don't understand this at all. Why does it make a difference if you're in the pilot seat just being a passenger in that seat that it would make you sick as opposed to being a passenger any where else in a moving vehicle? *facepalm*
 
atarione said:
I always drive if at all possible as I'm prone to motion sickness if not the driver..

I absolutely detest the idea of self driving cars..

I get quite queasy on buses or trains also.. (buses more so for whatever reasons..)
Click to expand...

I think this answered my previous question. This is more so for people that get motion sickness regardless of it being a self driving car. Gotcha!
 
Rahh said:
I think this answered my previous question. This is more so for people that get motion sickness regardless of it being a self driving car. Gotcha!
Click to expand...

Yeah.. the attention / physical act of driving seems to stave off motion sickness... people such as myself really don't do well with being passengers and will try to actively avoid being a passenger if possible.
 
I hope this can be transferred to other cats, not just self driving ones. I do not get motion sick at all, doesn't matter what seat I'm in. I can read, draw, stare out the window, etc while riding in a car. However I know many folks who cannot, so road trips are not the funnest with them, because they often want to drive. I really enjoy driving more than being a passenger, hense the conflict and my interest in this technology transferring to other vehicles.
 
atarione said:
I always drive if at all possible as I'm prone to motion sickness if not the driver..

I absolutely detest the idea of self driving cars..

I get quite queasy on buses or trains also.. (buses more so for whatever reasons..)
Click to expand...
So because you get motion sickness noone else should enjoy them either? Most people get seasick, yet I don't see them detesting the idea of cruise ships and ferries.
 
M76 said:
So because you get motion sickness noone else should enjoy them either? Most people get seasick, yet I don't see them detesting the idea of cruise ships and ferries.
Click to expand...


pretty much... selfishly I detest the idea of being queasy and possibly throwing up going anywhere.. should we reach a point where autonomous cars become ubiquitous ..

I also detest cruise ships and ferries also :vomit:
 
Nah. Just make the interiors easily rinsed off with a garden hose.

Got a puker on board? No worries. Just keep driving. Hose it out later.
 
I was under the impression that motion sick people don't get sick in a rear facing seat, and is why they choose them on trains, etc. Having seats able to swivel to the direction you want in self drives will help.
 
Chas said:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/seriouslyscience/2014/08/07/doesnt-driver-get-motion-sickness/


It's all about sensory input and control.
Click to expand...

This.

If you are controlling the input, you are able to keep your vision, vestibular, and somatosensory systems in sync...and you can ANTICIPATE what will happen next. There is no constant "roller coaster" effect; you control and anticipate and therefore don't feel nauseous. That's why so many people get car sick as passengers, but not as drivers. Having a visual horizon and facing forward (in the direction of travel) is important. No head down reading while being driven.
 
its all about the sideways sway (same as boats) , and the jerky braking and acceleration.

which is why attempting to read in a constant even travel is much easier than say a hatchback in city streets.

don't need special visual aids or anything. just better ride engineering.
 
This is why I pick a window seat just behind the wing when flying. When I can watch the control surfaces I know what the plane is about to do and can anticipate turns and altitude changes. I can't stand sitting in the isle seats.

Getting sick in a self driving car is one thing, but the past week has me thinking. Chevy just announced a car with no steering wheel or controls, and all week here I have been driving to work on roads that are now solid white packed snow. How would that vehicle handle driving on these back roads? And if it couldn't handle that, how would I get to work if I had one?
 
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