A turning cabin simulator to reduce simulator sickness

A long time problem associated with driving simulators is simulator sickness. A possible cause of simulator sickness is that the optical flow experienced in driving simulators is much different from that experienced in real world driving. With the potential to reduce simulator sickness, a turning cabin driving simulator, whose cabin rotates around the yaw axis was built. In the multi-projector display system, algorithms were implemented to calibrate both geometric distortions and photometric distortions via software to produce a seamless high-resolution display on a cylindrical screen. An automotive seat was mounted on an AC servo actuator at the center of the cylindrical screen. The force feedback steering wheel, and gas and brake pedals, were connected to the simulator's computer. Experiments were conducted to study the effect of optical flow patterns on simulator sickness. Results suggested that the optical flow perceived by drivers in the fixed base simulator was greater than that in the turning cabin simulator. Also, drivers reported a higher degree of simulator sickness in the fixed base simulator. The lower amount of optical flow perceived in the turning cabin simulator is believed to be a positive factor in reducing simulator sickness.