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VR to make you nauseous
TECHNOLOGY
ONE PER CENT
VR to make you nauseous The fun doesn’t have to end with cybersickness, finds Aviva Rutkin
SEBASTIAN VON MAMMEN
processing of the player’s input is delayed to mimic a slower reaction time, the image becomes blurry and shaky, and the colour contrast is reduced so it’s harder to see. These effects are also likely to increase feelings of cybersickness. Cybersickness sets in when people become disconnected from the physical reality of their body, says Thomas Stoffregen at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. It’s similar to getting seasick: people need time to figure out how to adjust their body to the rolling motions of a boat. This feeling gets stronger the more immersive the virtual world, which is why cybersickness is such a problem in VR and other simulators. “Nobody ever got sick playing Pac-Man, but when you play Pac-Man there’s no pretense that you have entered the PacMan world,” says Stoffregen. “The more that you experience the virtual world as being real, the more likely you are to try and sort of synchronise the control of your body relative to that world.” But von Mammen and his team suggest that these negative physical effects can be harnessed to enhance a VR experience. Of 64 people who tried their game at a campus event, 43 experienced some negative side effects, such as dizziness, while playing or after taking off the headset. However, most people said they enjoyed playing, giving it an average rating of 4.36 out of 5. “People still had fun despite being cybersick,” says von Mammen. The researchers conclude that cybersickness doesn’t necessarily take the fun out of VR, and can actually contribute to the –Becoming unfit to drive– enjoyment. n
26 | NewScientist | 19 November 2016
Hyperloop in the UAE Dubai to Abu Dhabi in 12 minutes. That’s the goal of a new agreement between Los Angeles-based Hyperloop One and Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority to explore the feasibility of high-speed pneumatic transport in the United Arab Emirates. To complete the 160-kilometre journey, passenger pods would zoom at up to 800 kilometres per hour through sealed tubes at reduced air pressure.
127
The number of people who have been killed while trying to take a selfie, according to an analysis led by Hemank Lamba at Carnegie Mellon University (arxiv.org/ abs/1611.01911)
Deep learning 2 go Facebook has made neural nets that you can run on your phone. The company’s apps will now make use of the Caffe2Go deep learning system to apply artistic filters to videos. In future, the neural nets could be used for tasks including translation and object recognition. “Part of what’s exciting is to see what creative ideas people come up with now they can do this,” says chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer.
HYPERLOOP ONE
SICK game, bro. Believe it or not, game, I think it provides the a new virtual-reality game is experience of living through designed to make its players something outside of everyday feel nauseous. experiences,” says von Mammen. “Cybersickness” describes His team has built a VR the side effects experienced by racing game called Drink & some people when they try VR. Drive, presented this month at The symptoms are similar to the ACM Symposium on Virtual those of motion sickness, “Cybersickness sets in including headache, nausea and when people get fatigue. It’s a thorn in the side of disconnected from the most VR developers, who want physical reality of their to find ways to overcome the problem so people can enjoy their games or experiences Reality Software and Technology without getting queasy. in Munich, Germany. But Sebastian von In the game, the player races a Mammen and his colleagues car around a track scooping up at the University of Augsburg, diamonds. But if they hit a can of Germany, see a possible upside to beer, their in-game blood alcohol the phenomenon. “Cybersickness content goes up – and a number of for any serious app is definitely a changes designed to reflect the no go, but in the context of a fun effects of drinking kick in. The
ONE PER CENT
VR to make you nauseous The fun doesn’t have to end with cybersickness, finds Aviva Rutkin
SEBASTIAN VON MAMMEN
processing of the player’s input is delayed to mimic a slower reaction time, the image becomes blurry and shaky, and the colour contrast is reduced so it’s harder to see. These effects are also likely to increase feelings of cybersickness. Cybersickness sets in when people become disconnected from the physical reality of their body, says Thomas Stoffregen at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. It’s similar to getting seasick: people need time to figure out how to adjust their body to the rolling motions of a boat. This feeling gets stronger the more immersive the virtual world, which is why cybersickness is such a problem in VR and other simulators. “Nobody ever got sick playing Pac-Man, but when you play Pac-Man there’s no pretense that you have entered the PacMan world,” says Stoffregen. “The more that you experience the virtual world as being real, the more likely you are to try and sort of synchronise the control of your body relative to that world.” But von Mammen and his team suggest that these negative physical effects can be harnessed to enhance a VR experience. Of 64 people who tried their game at a campus event, 43 experienced some negative side effects, such as dizziness, while playing or after taking off the headset. However, most people said they enjoyed playing, giving it an average rating of 4.36 out of 5. “People still had fun despite being cybersick,” says von Mammen. The researchers conclude that cybersickness doesn’t necessarily take the fun out of VR, and can actually contribute to the –Becoming unfit to drive– enjoyment. n
26 | NewScientist | 19 November 2016
Hyperloop in the UAE Dubai to Abu Dhabi in 12 minutes. That’s the goal of a new agreement between Los Angeles-based Hyperloop One and Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority to explore the feasibility of high-speed pneumatic transport in the United Arab Emirates. To complete the 160-kilometre journey, passenger pods would zoom at up to 800 kilometres per hour through sealed tubes at reduced air pressure.
127
The number of people who have been killed while trying to take a selfie, according to an analysis led by Hemank Lamba at Carnegie Mellon University (arxiv.org/ abs/1611.01911)
Deep learning 2 go Facebook has made neural nets that you can run on your phone. The company’s apps will now make use of the Caffe2Go deep learning system to apply artistic filters to videos. In future, the neural nets could be used for tasks including translation and object recognition. “Part of what’s exciting is to see what creative ideas people come up with now they can do this,” says chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer.
HYPERLOOP ONE
SICK game, bro. Believe it or not, game, I think it provides the a new virtual-reality game is experience of living through designed to make its players something outside of everyday feel nauseous. experiences,” says von Mammen. “Cybersickness” describes His team has built a VR the side effects experienced by racing game called Drink & some people when they try VR. Drive, presented this month at The symptoms are similar to the ACM Symposium on Virtual those of motion sickness, “Cybersickness sets in including headache, nausea and when people get fatigue. It’s a thorn in the side of disconnected from the most VR developers, who want physical reality of their to find ways to overcome the problem so people can enjoy their games or experiences Reality Software and Technology without getting queasy. in Munich, Germany. But Sebastian von In the game, the player races a Mammen and his colleagues car around a track scooping up at the University of Augsburg, diamonds. But if they hit a can of Germany, see a possible upside to beer, their in-game blood alcohol the phenomenon. “Cybersickness content goes up – and a number of for any serious app is definitely a changes designed to reflect the no go, but in the context of a fun effects of drinking kick in. The