Beyond Seasickness: A Motivated Call for a New Motion Sickness Standard across Motion Environments

Bos, Jelte; Diels, Cyriel; Souman, Jan · 2022 · Crossref

DOI: 10.3390/vibration5040044

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Summary

This perspective paper argues for the development of a new, comprehensive international standard for motion sickness that extends beyond the current ISO 2631-1 (1997) framework. The authors contend that motion sickness—manifesting as seasickness, carsickness, cybersickness, and simulator sickness—shares a common underlying mechanism driven by sensory conflict and postural instability. However, the existing ISO standard, rooted in World War II-era research on seasickness, is limited to vertical motion and predicts only the incidence of emesis (vomiting). This narrow scope renders the standard inadequate for modern applications, particularly automated vehicles and virtual reality (VR), where horizontal motion, visual-vestibular conflicts, and non-emetic symptoms are prevalent. The paper reviews the historical origins and mathematical models of ISO 2631-1, which calculates Motion Sickness Dose Value (MSDV) based on frequency-weighted vertical acceleration. The authors identify three primary limitations: the exclusion of horizontal motion critical for carsickness; the omission of visual factors essential for simulator and cybersickness; and the reliance on emesis as the sole outcome measure, ignoring a spectrum of preceding symptoms like nausea, dizziness, and lethargy. With the rise of automated driving, where all occupants become passengers susceptible to motion sickness, and the proliferation of VR, the authors assert that a unified standard is imperative to ensure safety, comfort, and valid experimental comparison across domains. Methodologically, the paper critiques current measurement practices. It notes that multidimensional scales like the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) and Motion Sickness Assessment Questionnaire (MSAQ) provide comprehensive data but are burdensome for real-time monitoring. Conversely, single-item scales and physiological markers (e.g., heart rate, skin conductance) lack the necessary sensitivity and specificity for reliable prediction. The authors also highlight significant individual variability in motion sickness susceptibility, influenced by gender, age, and genetic factors. For instance, females generally report higher susceptibility, and while inertial motion sickness susceptibility decreases with age, visually induced motion sickness susceptibility may increase. The significance of this work lies in its call for a dedicated standard that incorporates all forms of motion sickness, accounts for visual and inertial stimuli, and utilizes a consensus-based rating scale for symptom severity rather than just emesis. The authors outline critical knowledge gaps, including the need for better predictive models that integrate visual conflicts and the development of objective, continuous measurement tools. Establishing such a standard would facilitate the design of countermeasures, improve the validity of research across diverse motion environments, and address the growing public health implications of motion sickness in automated and virtual transport systems.

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Topics

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• passenger motion sickness comfort
• simulator sickness