Adaptation to Base Latency in a Head-Mounted Display Using a Performance Task to Facilitate Adaptation

Head-tracked head-mounted displays (HMDs) have innate base latency, which has been associated with simulator sickness in users. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether users could adapt to base latency in HMDs shown by a reduction in simulator sickness symptoms. Additionally, this study aimed to investigate whether performing a point and shoot task while wearing an HMD with base latency would facilitate faster and more complete adaptation compared to performing a passive object location task. Forty participants were recruited for a 2 (condition) x 3 (experimental session) mixed ANOVA experiment. Participants completed three experimental sessions separated by 48 hours while wearing an HMD with base latency. All participants completed the same passive object location task during their first and third experimental sessions. During the second experimental session, participants completed either the passive object location task or an active point and shoot performance task. Subjective sickness and postural sway data were collected to assess whether participants adapted to base latency over time. A main effect of experimental session was observed such that participants experienced less sickness and less sway after the third experimental session compared to the first. A main effect of condition was expected such that participants in the performance task group would experience less sickness and less sway in the third experimental session than participants in the object location task group, but this was not observed. Additionally, an unanticipated interaction between experimental session and condition was observed such that participants in the control condition experienced less sickness and less sway sooner than participants in the performance condition. These results indicate that adaptation to simulator sickness imposed by an HMD is possible, but a performance task does not appear to facilitate adaptation, but rather may serves as a distraction for participants that reduced symptoms when present.