Investigating the Reduction of Virtual Reality Sickness through Changes in Gaze Point

Abstract

A previous study has reported that displaying a static target point (fixation point) at the center of the virtual reality screen can reduce virtual reality sickness. This paper investigates the effects of moving the target point. We conducted an experiment comparing three conditions: (1) the following condition where the target point trailed the user’s gaze, (2) the preceding condition where the target point moved ahead of the gaze, and (3) the control condition with the fixation point. The results showed that the following condition increased nausea and fatigue compared to the control condition. On the other hand, no significant differences were observed between the preceding and control conditions. These results suggest that using the preceding target point may reduce virtual reality sickness as much as using the fixation point.