In rod we trust-The evaluation of a virtual rod and frame test as a cybersickness screening instrument.

Abstract

Although Virtual Reality (VR) holds massive potential, its applicability still faces challenges because some individuals experience cybersickness. This phenomenon includes general discomfort, disorientation, and/or nausea, and it threatens not only a pleasant user experience but also the user's safety. Thus, predicting a user's susceptibility without relying on screening questionnaires that focus on past experiences, would enable more pleasant, safer VR experiences, especially for first-time users. Hence, the current study uses the participant's controller input in a virtual Rod and Frame Test (RFT) as an effortlessly trackable performance measure. The RFT is an established method for measuring an individual's sense of verticality in visually displaced fields. It has been used in the context of simulator sickness and cybersickness. In line with the literature and the subjective vertical mismatch theory, a lower visual dependency is expected to be correlated positively with cybersickness. To evaluate the potential of the RFT as a screening method for cybersickness, a cybersickness-inducing virtual environment (the City) was deployed. In total, data from 76 participants were eligible for the statistical analysis. The study finds a positive correlation between lower visual dependency and cybersickness, but only for the group that took the RFT after experiencing the City and only for the post-RFT cybersickness ratings. As cybersickness symptoms were VR environment-specific, the predictive validity of the RFT considering the VR-specific attributes is limited. Further, other studies attributed different working mechanisms to explain the connection between visual dependence and cybersickness with conflicting evidence. Although the RFT is not applicable as a cybersickness screening method, the effect sizes suggest that the RFT could serve as an additional objective assessment of the individuals' current state during VR exposure. Future research should systematically explore interconnections between the various factors that contribute to cybersickness, pursuing the idea of open science for context sensitivity.