Design and Validation of a Driver Guidance System to Alleviate Passenger Motion Sickness

Xie, Weiyin; Hu, Haolong; He, Dengbo · 2026 · International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction

DOI: 10.1080/10447318.2026.2628141

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Summary

This study addresses the prevalence of motion sickness (MS) in smart cabins, particularly when passengers engage in non-driving-related tasks. While previous research focused on passenger-oriented interventions, such as providing visual cues, this work targets the primary source of MS: driver behavior. The authors propose an interactive driver guidance system designed to promote MS-friendly driving styles by providing real-time feedback on vehicle acceleration and alerts regarding potentially MS-inducing maneuvers. The study aims to validate whether such in-vehicle human-machine interface (HMI) feedback can effectively reduce passenger discomfort. The researchers conducted an on-road experiment using a within-subjects design with 16 gender-balanced driver-passenger pairs (32 participants total). Drivers were selected for aggressive driving tendencies, while passengers were recruited for high MS susceptibility. Participants completed a 30-minute urban driving route under two conditions: with and without the guidance system. The system utilized a Six-Degrees-of-Freedom Subjective Vertical Conflict (6-DoF SVC) model to estimate MS risk and displayed three distinct interfaces: an encouragement interface for smooth driving, a warning interface with a dynamic "MS bar" for high-risk acceleration, and an informative interface indicating inertial force direction. Passengers reported MS levels every minute using the Misery Scale (MISC) while watching video content to simulate typical cabin usage. The results indicated that the guidance system significantly altered driving dynamics, leading to lower levels of acceleration over time compared to the condition without the system. Although there were no significant differences in overall driving distance or total Motion Sickness Dose Value (MSDV), the system reduced the likelihood of passengers experiencing mild (MISC ≥ 2) or higher levels of motion sickness. The findings support the hypothesis that real-time visual feedback encourages more conservative driving styles, thereby delaying the onset of MS symptoms. This study demonstrates the potential of driver guidance systems to improve ride comfort by directly addressing vehicle dynamics rather than solely focusing on passenger perception. The findings suggest that integrating MS-aware feedback into smart cabin HMIs can effectively mitigate motion sickness, offering a practical solution for ridesharing and short-distance travel scenarios where manual driving remains prevalent. This approach highlights the importance of regulating driver behavior as a key strategy for enhancing passenger experience in modern vehicles.

Key finding

The driver guidance system reduced passenger motion sickness likelihood by promoting lower acceleration levels, despite no significant change in overall motion sickness dose values.

Methodology

on_road

Sample size: 32

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StageOutcomeToolModelPromptAttemptsCompleted
discover success 1 2026-05-28
archive success canonical_url 1 2026-06-06
extract success cached 3 2026-06-10
clean success clean 1 2026-06-07
chunk success chunk 1 2026-06-07
embed success embed Qwen/Qwen3-Embedding-8B 1 2026-06-07
enrich success openalex 5 2026-07-02
promote success 1 2026-06-04
summarize success llm qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant summ-v5 2 2026-06-10
tag success vector_similarity 15 2026-06-11
verify success 2 2026-06-10

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

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