Motion Sickness Detection Using Physiological and Vehicle Data

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Solution Overview

Problem

Autonomous vehicles face challenges in detecting motion sickness in passengers, which can lead to nausea, discomfort, and cognitive and emotional disturbances, especially when passengers engage in activities like reading or texting, due to the conflict between vestibular, proprioceptive, and visual senses, affecting safety and comfort.

Innovation Solution

A system that combines physiological data (heart rate, skin conductance, temperature) with vehicle motion data (accelerometers, gyroscopes) and eye gaze data to classify the degree of motion sickness, allowing for early detection and activation of remedial actions such as adjusting driving dynamics or the sensory environment.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If passengers engage in activities like reading or texting in autonomous vehicles, then passenger comfort and relaxation are improved, but motion sickness susceptibility increases due to sensory conflict

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepassenger comfortVSAvoidmotion sickness susceptibility
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary detection of motion sickness symptoms by continuously monitoring physiological parameters (heart rate, skin conductance, temperature) and vehicle motion data before full-blown motion sickness occurs. This early detection enables preventive actions to be taken, such as adjusting vehicle motion or notifying the passenger, thereby resolving the contradiction by allowing passengers to remain relaxed while preventing motion sickness onset.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Measurement precision

If the system monitors multiple physiological parameters and vehicle motion data continuously, then motion sickness detection accuracy is improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemotion sickness detection accuracyVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system merges multiple data sources including physiological parameters (heart rate, skin conductance, temperature), vehicle motion data (accelerometers, gyroscopes), and environmental sensors into a unified detection framework. By combining these diverse data streams and analyzing them collectively through a single processing system, the patent achieves high detection accuracy while avoiding the complexity of multiple separate monitoring systems.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Reliability

If the system detects motion sickness early and activates remedial actions, then passenger safety and comfort are improved, but system response time requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepassenger safetyVSAvoidresponse time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system is designed to detect motion sickness symptoms in their early stages by continuously monitoring physiological parameters and comparing them against baseline values. By identifying subtle changes in heart rate, skin conductance, and temperature before full-blown motion sickness occurs, the system enables early intervention with remedial actions such as adjusting vehicle motion or notifying the passenger, thereby ensuring safety while maintaining appropriate response times.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP4175860B1Motion sickness detection system for autonomous vehicles
Publication Date: 2024.07.31 QUALCOMM INC
  • EP4175860B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4175860B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4175860B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Techniques described herein include detecting a degree of motion sickness experienced by a user within a vehicle. A suitable combination of physiological data (heart rate, heart rate variability parameters, blood volume pulse, oxygen values, respiration values, galvanic skin response, skin conductance values, and the like), eye gaze data (e.g., images of the user), vehicle motion data (e.g., accelerometer, gyroscope data indicative of vehicle oscillations) may be utilized to identify the degree of motion sickness experienced by the user. One or more autonomous actions may be performed to prevent an escalation in the degree of motion sickness experienced by the user or to ameliorate the degree of motion sickness currently experienced by the user.