Cyber sickness in industrial virtual reality training

Abstract

The paper presents results of experimental studies of how cyber sickness (also known as the simulator sickness) can influence basic tasks performed by users of industrial VR (virtual reality) training simulations. Two application cases are presented – a simple walk around a virtual environment using two different movement possibilities and a more complex training process with object interaction involved. They were tested with representatives of real target groups – engineers and employees of production companies. The used equipment involved mobile and stationary headsets. The obtained results confirm initial expectations about stationary headsets being generally more safe for use regarding the cyber sickness issue. It was also found that continuous artificially induced movement in a VR application is generally less comfortable for the users and therefore unadvised to employ in training scenarios.