Investigating the Impact of Odors and Visual Congruence on Motion Sickness in Virtual Reality

Motion sickness is a prevalent side effect of exposure to virtual reality (VR). Previous work found that pleasant odors can be effective in alleviating symptoms of motion sickness such as nausea. However, it is unknown whether pleasant odors that do not match the anticipated scent of the virtual environment are also effective as they could, in turn, amplify symptoms such as disorientation. Therefore, we conducted a study with 24 participants experiencing a pleasant odor (rose) and an unpleasant odor (garlic) while being immersed in a virtual environment involving either virtual roses or garlic. We found that participants had lower motion sickness when experiencing the rose odor, however, only in the rose environment. Accordingly, we also showed that the sense of disorientation was lower for the rose odor, however, only while being immersed in the rose environment. Results indicate that whether pleasant odors are effective in alleviating motion sickness symptoms depends on the visual appearance of the virtual environment. We discuss possible explanations for such effects to occur. Our work contributes to the goal of mitigating visually induced motion sickness in VR.