A multimodal dataset for the study of cybersickness under stress and mental workload during immersive VR driving

Introduction Cybersickness is a common issue in immersive virtual reality (VR), causing symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, and eye strain. In demanding VR training scenarios, stress and mental workload may influence cybersickness severity. However, further research requires datasets that capture these factors alongside subjective and objective measures. This paper presents a multimodal dataset collected during a VR driving simulation to investigate cybersickness in relation to stress and mental workload. Methods Sixty participants completed a phase-based driving task in immersive VR. All participants performed three initial driving phases with progressively increasing difficulty, followed by a condition-specific final phase designed to elicit mental workload, stress, or a combination of both (20 participants per condition). Self-report questionnaires assessing cybersickness, mental workload, and stress-related symptoms were administered at multiple time points during the experiment. Physiological and behavioral data were continuously recorded using an instrumented VR headset and wearable sensors, including electroencephalography (EEG), cardiovascular signals, respiration, and head movement. Results Representative analyses of subjective and objective measures were conducted to validate the dataset. The analyses demonstrate changes in cybersickness symptoms across driving phases and experimental conditions, illustrating the potential of the collected data to examine cybersickness alongside stress and mental workload. Discussion This multimodal dataset provides a resource for neuroergonomics research on cybersickness in immersive VR driving scenarios. By integrating self-reported symptoms with physiological and behavioral measurements, it supports future investigations into the relationships between cybersickness, stress, and mental workload, as well as the development of approaches for monitoring and mitigating cybersickness in demanding VR applications.