Dr. Michael Barnett-Cowan (Kinesiology and Health Sciences) has recently made media appearances on the Morning Edition with Craig Norris and CTV News regarding his research on virtual reality (VR), cybersickness, and his work with the Multisensory Brain and Cognition (MBC) Lab. The focus on cybersickness comes from new research delving into why some people do get sick in VR while others don’t. Barnett-Cowan says it has to do with how the brain processes information from a real-world environment to a digital recreation. This creates a sense of cognitive dissonance that makes people more prone to feelings of nausea when using VR.
Barnett-Cowan’s research at the MBC Lab investigates how the brain integrates multisensory information and how this can inform the design and use of VR technology. This continues on work that the MBC Lab has been researching since 2018 with the publication of the paper "Estimating the Sensorimotor Components of Cybersickness", the details of which can be checked out on Our Projects Page. When studying cybersickiness, participants are “exposed to a fairly nauseating game in VR,” and after this exposure, it changes the way they process information that lessens the feeling of cybersickness.
But while most people are exposed to VR experiences through VR arcades, the work Barnett-Cowan and his lab does extend in other areas than just entertainment. In partnership with the GI, the MBC Lab uses games as a tool for efforts of education, training, and rehabilitation, and cybersickness isn’t the only thing they look at. Many research areas the MBC Lab looks at includes:
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Virtual, augmented, and mixed reality;
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Human-AI integration;
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Aviation training through VR;
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Aging sensory processing.
This work has resulted in collaborative projects with other GI Members such as the work done on Seas the Day with Samira Mehrabi (Aging, Health, and Well Being) and Dr. John Muñoz (J&F Alliance, Adjunct).
Seas the Day is a VR game designed to promote physical activity among older adults living with cognitive impairments. It includes a variety of activities such as Tai-Chi, rowing, and fishing. In understanding the effects of cybersickness, Dr. Barnett-Cowan’s research extends to games designed for the aging population. It’s his hope that in working with game developers to understand cybersickness and what causes it that they can tailor the content to the players and reduce the likelihood of sickness.