A study of sickness induced within a 3D virtual store and combated with fuzzy control in the elderly

Computers with an internet connection used at home can provide the elderly a new channel to access to information and services. However, most VEs lack information such as peripheral vision, responsiveness to limb-movement and, more often than not, subdued response to pleasantness. A further confounding factor is that some users exhibit symptoms that parallel those of classical motion sickness, both during and after the VE experience. Therefore, this study investigated the factors that contribute to sickness among the elderly when immersed into a 3D virtual store. The results of the first experiment showed that the rate of simulator sickness questionnaire (SSQ) scores increases significantly with navigational rotating speed and duration of exposure. In applying these findings, the fuzzy control was used to develop a fuzzy sickness warning system with contributing factors. The results of the second experiment showed that the proposed system can efficiently determine the level of sickness based on the associated subjective sickness estimates and combat sickness induced within a 3D virtual store.