Good Vibrations: Hacking Motion Sickness on the Cheap

1. Good Vibrations:Hacking Motion Sickness on the Cheap

6. I think I took a CPR class once

9. A pill is *not* a good enough fix

10. Symptoms • Nausea • Vertigo • Fatigue • Pale, clammy skin • Increased salivation • Hyperventilation

11. History • First happened when man tried to improve natural mobility • First recorded account came from Ancient Greece • Happened on the water • Coined the term nausea

12. Statistics! • 90% of the world’s population suffer from motion sickness at least once • 300 million of the U.S. experience it • 9 to 75 million have a debilitating response • 2 million have to visit the doctor

13. Who is at Risk • Some feel the effects worse than others • Predisposition to motion sickness can be inherited • Some races feel it worse than others • Others with increased susceptibility to it: • Pregnant women • Frequent migraine sufferers • People with anxiety disorders

14. Motion sickness can occur… • In an automobile, or • Train • Bus • On a plane • While playing video games • On a boat

15. Yeah, but they don’t

16. Theories of Causation Disproven Theories

17. Disproven Theories • “Blood and Guts” • Respiratory Issues • Reaction to shock to CNS and/or ANS • Infection • Overstimulation

18. Theories of Causation Foveal slip

19. Foveal Slip • Fixation disparity leads to lack of visual acuity • Occurs when there is a misalignment of the eye • Can be horizontal and/or vertical • Results in over- or under-convergence of eyes at a fixation point

20. Foveal Slip • Misalignment of the fovea is only a few arcminutes • One-sixtieth (1/60) of a degree • Foveal slip eventually leads to depth perception problems

22. Foveal Slip • Foveal slip leaves one unable to accurately track motion with their eyes • Definite correlation between foveal slip and motion sickness • Occurs during opti-kinetic stimulation • Increased fixation disparity leads to increased foveal slip, which leads to worse manifestations of motion sickness

23. Theories of Causation Motor-Sensory Conflict Theory

24. Motor-Sensory Conflict Theory • Defense mechanism to protect against neurotoxins • Signals sent to brain from the eyes and vestibular system contradict each other • Body can not sustain homeostasis

26. Current Prevention Techniques and “Treatment”

27. Prevention Methods • Sit where motion is felt the least • Don’t read • Keep head and body still • Face forward in a reclining position • Keep eyes on the horizon • Keep window open • Don’t drink or smoke • Eat small, low-fat, bland, and starchy foods

28. Natural Remedies • Powder or liquid ginger • Use acupuncture, acupressure, or mild electrical pulse at: • Neiguian or Pericardium (3 finger widths above the wrist) • Small intestine 17 (just below the earlobes, in the indentations behind the jawbone)

29. Drugs! • Diphenhydramine • Active ingredient in sleep aids • Cannot be used with infants • Not good for elderly, pregnant, or breast-feeders • Not good for people with glaucoma, heart disease, constipation, or enlarged prostate

30. Moar Drugs! • Antihistamines • Most effective 30-60 minutes before a trip • Side effect: drowsiness and less alert • Shouldn’t be used by people with emphysema or bronchitis

31. Das Goods

32. Das Goods • Uses Pure Data to produce a signal in the .01-10 kHz range • Chosen because that’s the range for typical head movements • Works using the motor-sensory theory as a basis

33. http://www.tottenkoph.com/strobe.txt

34. Stroboscopic glasses • Mounted just outside the wearer’s peripheral vision • Lights flash at 20 Hz with 8 ms dwell time • Prevents your eyes from going into a foveal slip • Shouldn’t cause epileptic seizures

35. Seizure Warning

36. Material List • Sunglasses (Dollar Store)- $1 • LilyPadArduino 168 Main Board (SparkFun)- $20.95 • LilyPad E-Sewing Kit (SparkFun)- $49.35 • Baseball cap (closet)- Free

37. EOF http://www.tottenkoph.com @@Tottenkoph