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With increasing op tempo, training requirements and new technologies, NAVAIR anticipates an increasing number of Virtual Environments (VE) and large format displays to be fielded aboard ships and aircraft. Two such display systems are VE training systems and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operator stations. VE training systems hold forth the promise of reducing training costs, minimizing risks to personnel and equipment, and creating a higher state of force readiness. Placing a UAV operator control station aboard a ship or follower aircraft gives the commander increased mission flexibility in the application of these systems.
One of the challenges of placing immersive visual environments such as a VE or UAV operator control station aboard a ship or aircraft is that the uncoupled visual and inertial environments between a display and platform induce motion sickness in the users. Recent experiments have shown that the level of motion sickness is doubled both in terms of motion sickness severity and the percentage of the population that is affected. This is especially a concern for pilots as motion sickness side effects include nausea, postural instability, drowsiness, decreased visual acuity and reduced fine motor control.
ARTIS, LLC has developed Motion-Coupled Virtual Environment (MOCOVE) to reduce the negative effects of being exposed to a motion-discordant environment. MOCOVE is the only drug-free system that has been proven through extensive human subjects testing to dramatically decrease these motion sickness effects. In recent trials conducted by the Naval Research Laboratory, MOCOVE was shown to reduce motion sickness by a factor of five over subjects without MOCOVE.
This Phase II SBIR is supported by NAVAIR-TSD (Training Systems Division) in Orlando , FL.
Four separate classes of users will benefit from MOCOVE:
- VE trainees – MOCOVE will enable military personnel to access VE training devices while they are at sea. This will enhance the readiness of sailors, Marines, soldiers and airmen, particularly on long deployments. In addition, new warfighting paradigms envision commanders using VE's to wargame battle options. Since these types of planning operations will take place irregardless of sea state, managing spatial disorientation with a system such as MOCOVE may be a crucial enabler of simulation-based operational planning.
- Large display users – DDX and other modern ships make heavy use of large format display terminals. Emerging research indicates that users of large format displays, such as radar displays and battle control systems, suffer enhanced levels of spatial disorientation. It is anticipated that MOCOVE will have similar beneficial effects for large format display users as have been shown for VE users.
- UAV operators – The U.S. Navy is considering placing select UAV control stations aboard aircraft. This creates a environment that heightens the motion sickness of UAV operators, which is greatly alleviated through use of MOCOVE.
- Vehicle passengers – Passengers of violently moving systems, such as an aircraft flying nap of the earth, often experience severe motion sickness. MOCOVE reduces these effects by a significant amount.
There are effective and readily available drugs on the market to reduce motion sickness symptoms such as Scopolamine and Dramamine. These are primarily antihistamines, and side effects generally include drowsiness, impairment of judgment and a reduction of fine motor skills. MOCOVE contrasts with medication in that it reduces the condition that causes motion sickness as opposed to attempting to reduce symptoms due to evocative stimuli.
Alternative health products such herbal remedies and pressure bands worn on the wrist may also be found on the market. The efficacy of alternative health products has never been shown in clinical trials, and any benefit ascribed to these products is most likely due to placebo effect. MOCOVE consists of a small electronic sensor system that is slightly larger than a book of matches. This plugs into the serial port of any computer such as a PC, SGI or Sun workstation. It comes with a well-documented software library that permits it to be linked into the users’ software system with minimal effort. MOCOVE is easy to integrate with a wide class of virtual environments and displays. Artis, LLC is currently marketing two versions of MOCOVE, a standard package and an enhanced version. The standard package records three linear degrees of freedom. This system is suitable for ship-board use and is currently priced at $599 per unit. The enhanced version includes two rotational axes and is priced at $1000. It is more appropriate for use aboard aircraft or where more violent motions may be expected. Extensive human subject testing in collaboration with NRL and the most reputable researchers in the field validates the efficacy of MOCOVE. It is simply the only drug-free method for reducing motion sickness.
The proprietary concept behind MOCOVE is based upon the premise that one of the major causes of motion sickness is the discordance between the visual environment and the motion environment as sensed through one’s proprioceptive receptors. To reduce motion sickness, we use a low-cost suite of accelerometers and gyroscopes to measure actual motion. We then modify the display that a user is viewing such that it integrates aspects of this real, sensed motion into the display scene. This approach has been shown to dramatically reduce the level of motion sickness
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