Motion Sickness Prevention by Stroboscopic Environment during Simulated

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Motion Sickness Prevention by Stroboscopic Environment during Simulated Military Transport

Catherine M. Webb, Arthur Estrada, Jeremy R. Athy, Edna Rath, Melody King, Brad Bumgardner

Previous studies have shown stroboscopic illumination to reduce the severity of motion sickness symptoms when retinal slip is a significant factor. The present study assessed the use of a 4 and an 8 Hz stroboscopic environment as a countermeasure for visually-induced motion sickness. The motion profiles of an Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and a Marine AAVC7A1
Amphibious Assault Vehicle were produced using the U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory’s Multi Axis Ride Simulator. Participants who experienced the UH-60 motion profile subjectively reported the 8 Hz condition as significantly more effective in controlling motion sickness symptoms than the 4 Hz condition. In addition, the same participants reported a greater mean number of motion sickness symptoms (regardless of severity) after the no strobe condition than the 8 Hz condition; however this difference was not significant. Although there was no conclusive evidence of stroboscopic illumination as a motion sickness countermeasure
in the objective performance measures, there was evidence of its effectiveness in subjective reports.