Nausea, dizziness, headache, tiredness… For For some people, virtual reality is anything but a fun experience. Researchers at the University of Waterloo (Canada) tried to better understand this evil, called the cyber sickness among English speakers.

Evils of Virtual Reality: the perception of the vertical lines in question?

For this study published in the journal Virtual realityThe researchers collected 31 participants. They rated their perception of vertical before and after playing two virtual reality games: a high intensity and a low intensity. Those who were less sick after the sessions were more likely to show the greatest changes in their perception of verticals, particularly during high-intensity gaming. Conversely, those who suffered the most from virtual reality sickness showed little change in their perception of vertical lines.

“Our results suggest that the severity of “cyber sickness“a person is influenced by how our senses adapt to the conflict between reality and virtual reality”‘ Michael explained Barnett CowanProfessor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences at the University of Canada at A communicates.

“This knowledge could be invaluable to developers and designers of virtual reality experiences as it allows them to create more comfortable and enjoyable environments for users.“

Listening to happy music fights the “cyber sickness”

Canadian scientists agree that more work is needed to understand the damage mechanisms in virtual reality. But in the meantime, good news for fans of new technologies, who are inspired by the “Cyber ​​sickness”: aThe Edinburgh University team seems to have found a way to reduce nausea and dizziness. According to her works presented in the review, one must listen to a cheerful melody IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.

The researchers came to this conclusion after examining the effect of music in a virtual reality environment on 39 people between the ages of 22 and 36. A series of tests was conducted to assess the impact of virtual reality sickness on reading speed, reaction times and memory skills after three gaming sessions. Some were accompanied by electronic, soothing or upbeat pieces. Participants were also asked to rate the severity of their symptoms of “cyber sickness”.

“Our study suggests soothing or uplifting music as a solution light pain caused by immersive virtual reality”, explained dr. Sarah E McPhersonAuthor of the work, in a press release. It helps combat the onset of the disorder as well as the intensity of the symptoms.

“Virtual reality is used in educational and clinical contexts, but the experience of light pain may temporarily impair a person’s ability to think and slow down their reaction time”She added. “The use of music as an intervention could encourage wider use of virtual reality in educational and clinical settings.“