Effects of Multisensory Stimulation on Simulator Motion Sickness and Presence in a Simulator-based VR Environment

Objective: This study aimed to investigate (1) how multi-sensory stimuli affect simulator sickness and presence compared to visual stimuli and audiovisual stimuli, (2) to examine the differences in simulator sickness and presence between multisensory stimuli and conventional stimuli around the 10-minute, which is a critical point for significant changes in simulator sickness levels, and (3) to compare synchronized multi-sensory stimuli with asynchronized multi-sensory stimuli to determine any differences in simulator sickness and presence.<br/>Background: VR has the advantage of providing a significant sense of presence compared to other visualization methods. However, one of the major drawbacks of VR is simulator sickness, and many studies have shown that multisensory stimuli can solve this problem. However, some studies have found that multisensory stimulation did not significantly affect simulator motion sickness, and it has been observed that the level of simulator sickness can vary significantly over time.<br/>Method: This study was conducted into two parts, Study 1 and Study 2. In Study 1, a total of 18 participants were asked to experience 3 sensory types (visual stimuli, audiovisual stimuli, multisensory stimuli), and then Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) and Presence Questionnaire (PQ) were conducted. In Study 2, SSQ and PQ were conducted after a total of 18 participants were asked to experience 2 sensory types (synchronous multisensory stimuli, asynchronous multisensory stimuli).<br/>Results: In Study 1, no significant differences in simulator sickness were found among the three sensory modalities. Multisensory stimuli showed a higher sense of presence compared to visual stimuli, but no significant difference was observed compared to audiovisual stimuli. In Study 2, it was confirmed that the difference between simulator sickness and presence was not significant in multisensory stimuli depending on whether it was synchronized. Furthermore, the analysis of the simulator sickness and presence scores around the 10-minute mark revealed that there were no significant differences in simulator sickness and presence based on the type of stimuli.<br/>Conclusion: It was confirmed that multisensory stimuli had no significant difference in simulator motion sickness compared to visual stimuli and audiovisual stimuli, and although it had a higher presence than visual stimuli, it had a similar level of presence to audiovisual stimuli.<br/>Application: The results of this study are believed to be applicable to the development of VR-based automotive simulator content.