Machine learning methods for the study of cybersickness: a systematic review

This systematic review offers a world-first critical analysis of machine learning methods and systems, along with future directions for the study of cybersickness induced by virtual reality (VR). VR is becoming increasingly popular and is an important part of current advances in human training, therapies, entertainment, and access to the metaverse. Usage of this technology is limited by cybersickness, a common debilitating condition experienced upon VR immersion. Cybersickness is accompanied by a mix of symptoms including nausea, dizziness, fatigue and oculomotor disturbances. Machine learning can be used to identify cybersickness and is a step towards overcoming these physiological limitations. Practical implementation of this is possible with optimised data collection from wearable devices and appropriate algorithms that incorporate advanced machine learning approaches. The present systematic review focuses on 26 selected studies. These concern machine learning of biometric and neuro-physiological signals obtained from wearable devices for the automatic identification of cybersickness. The methods, data processing and machine learning architecture, as well as suggestions for future exploration on detection and prediction of cybersickness are explored. A wide range of immersion environments, participant activity, features and machine learning architectures were identified. Although models for cybersickness detection have been developed, literature still lacks a model for the prediction of first-instance events. Future research is pointed towards goal-oriented data selection and labelling, as well as the use of brain-inspired spiking neural network models to achieve better accuracy and understanding of complex spatio-temporal brain processes related to cybersickness

Presence and Cybersickness in Virtual Reality Are Negatively Related: A Review

In order to take advantage of the potential offered by the medium of virtual reality (VR), it will be essential to develop an understanding of how to maximize the desirable experience of “presence” in a virtual space (“being there”), and how to minimize the undesirable feeling of “cybersickness” (a constellation of discomfort symptoms experienced in VR). Although there have been frequent reports of a possible link between the observer’s sense of presence and the experience of bodily discomfort in VR, the amount of literature that discusses the nature of the relationship is limited. Recent research has underlined the possibility that these variables have shared causes, and that both factors may be manipulated with a single approach. This review paper summarizes the concepts of presence and cybersickness and highlights the strengths and gaps in our understanding about their relationship. We review studies that have measured the association between presence and cybersickness, and conclude that the balance of evidence favors a negative relationship between the two factors which is driven principally by sensory integration processes. We also discuss how system immersiveness might play a role in modulating both presence and cybersickness. However, we identify a serious absence of high-powered studies that aim to reveal the nature of this relationship. Based on this evidence we propose recommendations for future studies investigating presence, cybersickness, and other related factors