Catalyst 2020-2021 | UTSA
UTSA Duo Develops Cure for Virtual Reality-Induced Motion Sickness By Jalen Ray In an ongoing battle to make video games as realistic as possible,
In his research, Ang found one of the main reasons users get sick in
game designers often implement virtual reality (VR) technology
VR is due to how realistic the experience is. “Everyone is different, but
within their games. Wearing a goggle-like headset that displays a
looking through literature we found that when a game’s graphics are
screen in front of the user, the player can see what the character sees
really good or there is a wide and more realistic field of view, motion
and can control the character through physical movements. This sort
sickness is more likely to occur,” Ang said.
of technology is revolutionary in the video game industry, allowing players to have a true first-person experience as they battle zombies
To combat this, Ang focused on implementing eight tactics in the
or fight their way through a war in outer space.
software that decrease the overall realism of the game during the moments when motion sickness is most prevalent. These
However, for many users, nausea and motion sickness get in the
tactics include automatically manipulating the field of view for the
way of enjoying this technology. In response to this issue, associate
player, such as blurring out the user’s peripheral vision. Quarles notes,
professor Dr. John Quarles and graduate student Samuel Ang from
however, that intruding into the user’s VR experience is a drawback.
the Department of Computer Science created GingerVR. It took Ang most of the summer to create GingerVR. “It started out GingerVR is an open-source toolkit that incorporates a variety of
as just a concept,” Quarles explained, “and I asked Sam to take a
techniques known to decrease motion sickness and applies them
further look into it.” Though the initial creation is complete, Ang is
when necessary while someone is playing. The system was named
not yet done with the software. With so little information on VR-
after the ginger root, commonly used to ease nausea.
induced motion sickness available, Ang is doing more holistic research to find concrete explanations as to why some users
“The plan is that game developers and researchers alike will use this
experience these symptoms.
software to pick and choose what tactics they want implemented within their game,” Ang explained. This revolutionary software
Ang is investigating the idea of incorporating a stationary object
platform allows users to easily access multiple tactics at once. Ang
in the players’ field of view, like a visible nose at the bottom of the
and Quarles hope other researchers will use the software to make
screen, while they play the game. This idea is based off the theory
improvements. Their goal is to bring an end to VR-induced motion
that we use stationary objects in our everyday life to keep us oriented.
sickness entirely.
Ang and Quarles have other ideas, too.
Video games aren’t the only arena where virtual reality is used.
“With more research, we would like to create a system where artificial
Applications for this technology exist in just about every sector of
intelligence automatically chooses the reduction technique based
the economy—from architecture, engineering and construction
on the player’s physiological response, such as heart rate or level of
to hospitals and schools—offering the potential to take job and
breathing,” Quarles explained.
student performance to the next level. One survey found that half of companies in these industries plan to incorporate extended reality, which includes VR, within the next two years. With GingerVR, an employee or student can go through a simulation without worrying about performing the task incorrectly due to motion sickness. 5
