Yamaha Tackles VR Motion Sickness

[Hugh Janus]

Yamaha has been using VR systems for years and recognized that nausea in some users can be a problem. (Yamaha Motor Corp./)

Virtual reality headsets have been a technology that’s “just around the corner” for decades, but with the advent of mainstream kits like the Sony PlayStation VR and smartphone-based VR headsets it’s finally becoming something that normal people are likely to use on a regular basis. Yamaha sees that it also offers potential for motorcycle R&D and as such has set out to solve the problem of motion sickness dogging many VR users since the systems have become more common.

If you’ve never experienced it, that VR sickness can be a deal-breaker. The conflict between the convincing visual signals that you get from a virtual reality headset and your other senses, combined with the imperceptible lag between your movements and the image on the display, can lead to nausea almost immediately in some users.

Masayuki Miki (left) with Yamaha’s Technical Research and Development Center says ongoing research into VR sickness can help with product functionality down the line. (Yamaha Motor Corp./)

Yamaha has been using VR for R&D purposes in motorcycle development for a while and found that nausea was a big enough stumbling block that it set out to solve the problem.

Masayuki Miki, a member of the joint research team at the Fundamental Technology Research Division at Yamaha’s Technical Research and Development Center, explains: “Since VR allows us to ‘ride’ a wide range of products on all kinds of road environments our simulators and VR equipment play an important role in our research into rider–machine dynamics. It also goes toward achieving our Jin-Ki Kanno development ideal (Yamaha-speak for the ‘seductive exhilaration of being one with the machine’) as well as serving as a component contributing to the strong reputation we have for Yamaha handling.”

With several of its own test riders suffering from VR sickness when using the equipment, the company has taken part in research with the Makoto Miyazaki lab at Shizuoka University to tackle the problem. Miki says: “At Yamaha, we already had our own theories based on experience, like that no accompanying sound in the simulations seemed to make the sickness worse or that vibration seemed to help reduce its degree, but we had no clear evidence for any of them.”

In research using a scooter simulator, the company found that better synchronization of visuals with sound and vibrations led to lower levels of VR-induced nausea. (Yamaha Motor Corp./)

During the research, 80 riders were asked to take five-minute rides on a scooter simulator, wearing an Oculus Rift VR headset on a program that took them down a twisting road. The test subjects were split into groups, some experiencing just the VR visuals, others getting visuals and matching sound effects via Bose noise-canceling headphones, and finally some experiencing the full simulation including visuals, sound, and vibrations through a pad in the scooter’s seat.

That last group, experiencing visuals along with the right sound and vibrations for the most immersive experience, suffered significantly lower levels of VR-induced nausea. The results were published in a scientific paper, “Effects of synchronized engine sound and vibration presentation on visually induced motion sickness.”

With that knowledge in hand, Yamaha has plans to use VR as a way to engage its customers more in the development of new bikes.

“If this ongoing research project leads to a substantive solution,” Miki says, “it will become possible to have riders with different riding techniques and perceptions participate in virtual test rides of prototype vehicles in the early stages of development using existing roads from around the world. I’m sure that this will lead to product development that is not just more efficient and more in line with the actual use conditions of our customers, but also results in products with greater performance, functionality, and more uniquely Yamaha qualities. It will surely also help with creating social VR environments and facilitating remote communication.”

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