Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation for Motion Sickness Mitigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Motion sickness in vehicle passengers arises from the mismatch between visually perceived movement and the vestibular system's sense of movement, particularly exacerbated in highly automated driving situations where passengers are not actively engaged with the road environment.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses a combination of physical acceleration sensors, visual acceleration determination, and galvanic vestibular stimulation to mitigate the acceleration mismatch by inducing a sensation of virtual acceleration, with a control unit determining the necessary stimulation signal to align the passenger's perceived acceleration with the actual vehicle acceleration, utilizing eye tracking and other sensors for precise adaptation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If passengers engage in activities such as reading or watching displays during vehicle travel, then productivity and ease of operation are improved, but motion sickness occurs due to mismatch between visual perception and vestibular system
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces galvanic vestibular stimulation as an intermediary mechanism that mediates between the visual system and vestibular system. By applying electrical stimulation to the vestibular nerve, it creates a compensatory signal that bridges the mismatch between visual perception of stillness and actual vestibular motion detection, thereby preventing motion sickness while allowing passengers to engage in reading or display watching activities
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physiological parameter of vestibular nerve excitation by applying galvanic stimulation. This electrical stimulation modifies the firing rate of vestibular nerve fibers to match the visual perception state, thereby altering the vestibular signal to eliminate the sensory conflict that causes motion sickness
2Object-affected harmful factors
If visual content on display is adapted according to driving parameters, then motion sickness is reduced, but device complexity increases due to larger display requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/optical solution of enlarging and repositioning display content with an electrical/physiological solution using galvanic vestibular stimulation. Instead of modifying the visual display system to compensate for motion sickness, it directly stimulates the vestibular nerve to create the appropriate motion sensation, thereby eliminating the need for larger displays or complex visual adaptations
3Object-affected harmful factors
If galvanic vestibular stimulation is applied to influence the vestibular system, then motion sickness is reduced, but device complexity increases due to additional stimulation components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the control unit multi-functional by having it perform both visual acceleration determination and galvanic vestibular stimulation control. This universal control architecture consolidates multiple functions into a single device, thereby reducing overall system complexity despite the addition of vestibular stimulation capability
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Effectively reduces motion sickness by closing the gap between physical and visual accelerations, providing a simple, non-invasive, and cost-effective solution that addresses the root cause of motion sickness rather than just its symptoms.
Implementation Method 1
One means to influence the vestibular system is known as galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS), whereby specific electric signals are transmitted to a vestibular nerve in the ear. For example, a GVS system can comprise two electrodes that are placed behind a person's ears. A small electric current signal between the electrodes can be transmitted in order to influence the person's vestibular sense.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
An improved system and method for use in a vehicle for reducing motion sickness of a vehicle passenger (1) is proposed. The system comprises - a physical acceleration determination unit (32) comprising at least one physical acceleration sensor (4, 5, 6, 72), the physical acceleration determination unit (32) configured to determine a physical acceleration acting upon the vehicle and / or the passenger (1), - a visual acceleration determination unit (33) configured to determine a visual acceleration visually perceived by the passenger (1), - a galvanic vestibular stimulation unit (2) configured to provide an electric stimulation signal to the passenger (1) in order to induce a sensation of virtual acceleration of the passenger (1) and - a control unit (31), wherein the control unit (31) is configured - to determine an acceleration mismatch between the physical acceleration and the visual acceleration, - to determine a mitigation acceleration as a function of the acceleration mismatch such that the mitigation acceleration at least partially mitigates the acceleration mismatch, and - to determine the electric stimulation signal as a function of the mitigation acceleration such that the induced sensation of virtual acceleration corresponds to the mitigation acceleration.