(From left) Professor Seungjun Kim of GIST, Master’s student Bocheon Kim of GIST, PhD student Seokhyun Hwang of University of Washington, PhD students Seongjun Kang, Kwangbin Kim, and Dohyun Yeo of GIST.
On May 12, the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) announced that the research team led by Professor Seungjun Kim from the School of AI Convergence has developed a "VR navigation technology" that allows users to move freely inside a vehicle, as well as a "visual aid device" that reduces motion sickness during driving.
Traditional vehicle-based VR systems have passively responded to vehicle movements by synchronizing VR content with the car's motions. However, the newly developed technology is designed to let users move freely within the VR environment as if in real life, while ensuring both immersion and stability.
The research team implemented five VR navigation methods suitable for use inside vehicles (▲joystick control ▲upper body tilting ▲arm movement-based ▲on-the-spot walking ▲teleportation) and conducted comparative experiments with 20 participants. They tested each method in both stationary and moving vehicle environments, measuring the degree of motion sickness, immersion, task fatigue, and user preference for each scenario.
The results showed that the joystick method not only caused the least physical strain, but also synchronized most naturally with the actual movement of the vehicle. In contrast, methods involving body tilting or on-the-spot walking tended to cause motion sickness due to conflicts with the vehicle's movement.
In addition, to address the issue of motion sickness caused by mismatches between the vehicle's movements and the user's sensory perception, the research team devised four "context-based visual cues" (▲tilting ground ▲movement inducement ▲force transfer ▲visual distraction) that visually interpret real-world motion in the virtual environment in a natural way.
These visual cues dynamically adjust the terrain, objects, and visual effects of the virtual space in real time to match acceleration, deceleration, and rotation, helping users perceive the vehicle's actual movements naturally within the VR environment without a sense of disconnect.
The "Tilting Ground" cue tilts the ground in VR in response to the vehicle's movement, aligning the user's posture changes with visual information and effectively reducing motion sickness. "Movement Inducement" provides visual elements in the virtual space that prompt users to tilt or dodge, encouraging active responses and enhancing immersion.
"Force Transfer" expresses physical forces such as acceleration or rotation of the actual vehicle as indirect visual effects like wind in the virtual space, recreating a realistic sense of motion. Lastly, "Visual Distraction" uses highly immersive visual elements to disperse the user's attention, alleviating discomfort caused by sensory differences between the real vehicle's movement and the virtual environment.
In follow-up experiments, the team conducted tests applying each of the four visual cues to the joystick navigation method, which had been evaluated as the most suitable among the VR navigation methods.
The results demonstrated that the "Tilting Ground" and "Movement Inducement" cues were most effective at reducing motion sickness while also significantly enhancing immersion. On the other hand, the "Visual Distraction" cue caused distraction for some participants, while the "Force Transfer" cue was found to be flexibly applicable for expressing a sense of speed and direction in the virtual environment.
Professor Seungjun Kim stated, "This research presents new possibilities for users to freely move and experience VR content even in the unique environment of a vehicle," adding, "It is especially meaningful as it proposes an innovative technological direction that minimizes sensory mismatch while maintaining both user immersion and autonomy."
He further predicted, "This technology will become a core foundation not only for simple gaming or entertainment VR, but also for enabling immersive learning and efficient collaboration on the move, as if actually being on-site regardless of time and space. It will open up a future where creative activities that turn imagination into reality can flourish."
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