Impact of Noncontact Tactile Stimulation on Motion-Induced Electrodermal Responses and Subjective Motion Sickness

Autonomous vehicles pose challenges regarding motion sickness (MS), as passengers engage in nondriving related tasks. To support the acceptance of self-driving cars, we evaluated effectiveness of a novel, noncontact tactile stimulation. The system provides anticipatory cues to passengers’ palms using modulated ultrasound. The effectiveness of the system was determined using both, electrodermal responses (EDRs) evoked by driving maneuvers and subjective MS assessments. We observed significantly increased amplitudes of EDRs with higher MS levels, a relationship established for the first time in this context. The implementation of our stimulation system resulted in significantly reduced EDR amplitudes, indicating its efficacy in mitigating arousal and MS symptoms. This research contributes to developing objective MS evaluation methods and minimally intrusive mitigation strategies, potentially improving passenger comfort and acceptance of self-driving vehicles.