These smart glasses could CURE motion sickness for self-driving car passengers
DRIVERLESS cars are a major worry for motion-sickness sufferers – could smart glasses be the cure?
Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a smart eyewear concept that could stop travel sickness in its tracks.
The main reason why people get travel sick is a conflict between your body's sensory inputs.
If you're not watching the road, your brain knows that your body is moving, but can't see why.
This can spark a nausea response, which can be devastating for people who seriously suffer from travel sickness.
One of the best ways to combat motion sickness is to drive the car yourself, because your brain can better compute current and upcoming movements.
But when self-driving cars go mainstream – as soon as 2020, according to some predictions – drivers will be forced to become passengers, potentially sparking widespread nausea on British roads.
Researchers now believe that by using smart glasses, it may be possible to reduce the symptoms of severe motion sickness.
Experts at the University of Michigan have patented a pair of glasses that are connected to the main systems of a car, and beam light signals into your peripheral vision, simulating what a passenger might see outside.
These signals give your body a frame of reference for motion, hopefully allowing you to read a book or check your phone in the back-seat without feeling ill.
Michael Sivak, who works at the university's Transportation Research Institute, says that half of adults get motion sick at times when reading a book in a moving vehicle.
"This is more important with the introduction of autonomous vehicles."
"In autonomous cars, everyone will be a passenger. So you will have a larger potential pool of sick people."
"The protection that drivers have received from driving won't be there any more."
Keith Hughes, who also works on transportation tech at the university, said that the problem could be made even worse by the fact that self-driving vehicle seating might not be arranged like conventional cars.
"As we move toward autonomous vehicles, the interiors could also have an unusual configuration."
"It could be couches in a vehicle or you might be sitting backwards or sideways."
"Providing a solution to motion sickness will be necessary."
Sadly the project is just in a concept stage for now, so sickness-squashing specs might be years away – and may not even launch at all.