MY RESEARCH
My research combines modern Virtual Reality (VR) technologies with traditional behavioural and neuro-cognitive measures to investigate human cognition, perception, and performance. My work focuses on adverse effects associated with the use of VR applications, such as nasuea, dizziness, or disorientation - a phenomenon commonly referred to as visually induced motion sickness. In addition, I use neuro-cognitive and behavioural measures to explore the sensation of self-motion in VR and I am involved in KITE’s driving simulation program. Overall, my research has a strong applied component and provides a balance between theory and application.
MOTION SICKNESS IN REAL AND VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS
Motion sickness is a common phenomenon when travelling. Interestingly, users of VR applications can experience very similar symptoms, a phenomenon referred to as visually induced motion sickness. My research aims at understanding the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon and finding effective, non-medical treatments in order to prevent or minimize it.
SELF-MOTION PERCEPTION (VECTION) IN VR
VR users often feel that they are moving through the virtual world, although they remain stationary and physical motion is typically missing. This sensation is called vection and is a crucial part of creating a compelling VR experience. My research explores factors that contribute to the sensation of vection (age, sensory cues) and investigate its cognitive mechanisms using behavioral and neuro-scientific measures.
DRIVING SIMULATION RESEARCH
Driving is an essential part of our daily lives. However, road safety is still a major concern, making driving the most dangerous mode of transportation. The goal of my research is to investigate parameters that affect driving safety (ageing, drowsiness, medication) and to find solutions that will increase on-road safety.
PUBLISHED WORK
Peer-reviewed journals, conference papers, book chapters
2025
Murovec, B., Berti, S., Spaniol, J., & Keshavarz, B. (in revision). Early cortical processing of vection during coherent vs. non-coherent motion stimuli in younger and older adults: An event-related potential (ERP) study. International Journal of Psychophysiology.
Golding, J. F., & Keshavarz, B. (2025). Norms and Correlations of the Visually Induced Motion Sickness Susceptibility Questionnaire Short (VIMSSQ-short). Multisensory Research, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1163/22134808-bja10149
Keshavarz, B., Murovec, B., Chung, W., & Pöhlmann, K. (2025). How Visually Induced Motion Sickness is Affected by Stimulus Characteristics and Individual Factors in Younger and Older Adults. Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality: 17th International Conference, VAMR 2025, Held as Part of the 27th HCI International Conference, HCII 2025, Gothenburg, Sweden, June 22–27, 2025, Proceedings, Part I, 257–271. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-93700-2_17
Pourhashemi, N., Jaksic, K., Keshavarz, B., & Cleworth, T. W. (2025). The Effects of Delayed Visual Feedback on Dynamic Postural Control. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 66(6), 68. https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.66.6.68
Nowosielski, R. J., Keshavarz, B., Haycock, B. C., & Campos, J. L. (2025). The effects of physical motion cues on driving performance in older and younger adults. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 109, 1100–1113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2025.01.019
2024
Gabriel, G. A., Adams, M. S., Keshavarz, B., Sergio, L. E., & Campos, J. L. (2024). Vection in Individuals with and without Concussion: Associations with Postural Responses and Visual Dependence. Concussion, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.2217/001c.125861
Haghzare, S., Akbarian, N., Campos, J. L., Mihailidis, A., & Keshavarz, B. (2024). Simulator Sickness in Older Adults During Active and Passive Driving Tasks. Technology, Mind, and Behavior, 5(4). https://doi.org/10.1037/tmb0000138
Makani, A., Saryazdi, R., Givetash, S., & Keshavarz, B. (2024). The presence of an avatar can reduce cybersickness in Virtual Reality. Virtual Reality, 28(4), 163. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10055-024-01057-1
Murovec, B., Spaniol, J., & Keshavarz, B. (2024). The role of image realism and expectation in illusory self-motion (vection) perception in younger and older adults. Displays, 85, 102868. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.displa.2024.102868
Rouhani, R., Umatheva, N., Brockerhoff, J., Keshavarz, B., Kruijff, E., Gugenheimer, J., & Riecke, B. E. (2024). Towards benchmarking VR sickness: A novel methodological framework for assessing contributing factors and mitigation strategies through rapid VR sickness induction and recovery. Displays, 84, 102807. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.displa.2024.102807
Murovec, B., Spaniol, J., & Keshavarz, B. (2024). Individual factors and vection in younger and older adults: How sex, field dependence, personality, and visual attention do (or do not) affect illusory self-motion. I-Perception, 15(4), 20416695241270302. https://doi.org/10.1177/20416695241270302
Keshavarz, B., Adams, M. S., Gabriel, G., Sergio, L. E., & Campos, J. L. (2024). Concussion can increase the risk of visually induced motion sickness. Neuroscience Letters, 830, 137767. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2024.137767
Umatheva, N., Russo, F., & Keshavarz, B. (2024). The role of lifestyle factors, biological sex, and racial identity for (visually induced) motion sickness susceptibility: Insights from an online survey. Displays, 82, 102666. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.displa.2024.102666
Pöhlmann, K., Sarveswaran, A., Gioumes, V., & Keshavarz, B. (2024). Vibrations reduce cybersickness and enhance presence in VR. Proceedings of the 23st IEEE International Symposium in Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR). 10.1109/ISMAR-Adjunct64951.2024.00074
Keshavarz, B., De Luca, N., Campos, J. L., Moro, S. S., Peck, K., Steeves, J. K. E., & Haycock, B. (2024). Simulator sickness does not differ between drivers with monocular and binocular vision. Proceedings of the Driving Simulation Conference 2024 Europe VR, 83–90.
Pöhlmann, K., Makani, A., Saryazdi, R., & Keshavarz, B. (2024). Cybersickness lies in the eye of the observer – pupil diameter as a potential indicator of motion sickness in Virtual Reality? Proceedings of the 31st IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces.
2023
Riecke, B. E., Murovec, B., Campos, J. L., & Keshavarz, B. (2023). Beyond the Eye: Multisensory Contributions to the Sensation of Illusory Self-Motion (Vection). Multisensory Research, 1(aop), 1–38. https://doi.org/10.1163/22134808-bja10112
Andrievskaia, P., Berti, S., Spaniol, J., & Keshavarz, B. (2023). Exploring neurophysiological correlates of visually induced motion sickness using electroencephalography (EEG). Experimental Brain Research, 241(10), 2463–2473. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-023-06690-x
Lukacova, I., Keshavarz, B., & Golding, J. F. (2023). Measuring the susceptibility to visually induced motion sickness and its relationship with vertigo, dizziness, migraine, syncope and personality traits. Experimental Brain Research, 241(5), 1381–1391. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-023-06603-y
Kooijman, L., Berti, S., Asadi, H., Nahavandi, S., & Keshavarz, B. (2023). Measuring vection: A review and critical evaluation of different methods for quantifying illusory self-motion. Behavior Research Methods. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-023-02148-8
Boury, H., Albert, M., Chen, R. H. C., Chow, J. C. L., DaCosta, R., Hoffman, M. M., Keshavarz, B., Kontos, P., McAndrews, M. P., Protze, S., & Gagliardi, A. R. (2023). Exploring the merits of research performance measures that comply with the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment and strategies to overcome barriers of adoption: Qualitative interviews with administrators and researchers. Health Research Policy and Systems, 21(1), 43. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-023-01001-w
Gagliardi, A. R., Chen, R. H. C., Boury, H., Albert, M., Chow, J., DaCosta, R. S., Hoffman, M., Keshavarz, B., Kontos, P., Liu, J., McAndrews, M. P., & Protze, S. (2023). DORA-compliant measures of research quality and impact to assess the performance of researchers in biomedical institutions: Review of published research, international best practice and Delphi survey. PLOS ONE, 18(5), e0270616. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270616
Keshavarz, B., Murovec, B., Mohanathas, N., & Golding, J. F. (2023). The Visually Induced Motion Sickness Susceptibility Questionnaire (VIMSSQ): Estimating Individual Susceptibility to Motion Sickness-Like Symptoms When Using Visual Devices. Human Factors, 65(1), 107–124. https://doi.org/10.1177/00187208211008687
Keshavarz, B., Umatheva, N., & Peck, K. (2023). Investigating the Role of Vection, Presence, and Stress on Visually Induced Motion Sickness*. In J. Y. C. Chen & G. Fragomeni (Eds.), Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality (pp. 619–633). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35634-6_45
*Best paper award
2022
Igoshina, E., Russo, F. A., Shewaga, R., Haycock, B., & Keshavarz, B. (2022). The relationship between simulator sickness and driving performance in a high-fidelity simulator. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 89, 478–487. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2022.07.015
Murovec, B., Spaniol, J., Campos, J. L., & Keshavarz, B. (2022). Enhanced vection in older adults: Evidence for age-related effects in multisensory vection experiences. Perception, 3010066221113770. https://doi.org/10.1177/03010066221113770
Keshavarz, B., Peck, K., Rezaei, S., & Taati, B. (2022). Detecting and predicting visually induced motion sickness with physiological measures in combination with machine learning techniques. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 176, 14–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.03.006
Thawer, Z., Campos, J. L., Keshavarz, B., Shewaga, R., Furlan, A. D., Fernie, G., & Haycock, B. (2022). Development of a simulation-based experimental research framework for the characterization of cannabis-related driving impairment. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 13, 100561. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trip.2022.100561
Keshavarz, B., & Golding, J. F. (2022). Motion sickness: current concepts and management. Current Opinion in Neurology, 35(1), 107–112. https://doi.org/10.1097/WCO.0000000000001018
Igoshina, E., Russo, F. A., Haycock, B., & Keshavarz, B. (2022). Comparing the Effect of Airflow Direction on Simulator Sickness and User Comfort in a High-Fidelity Driving Simulator. In J. Y. C. Chen & G. Fragomeni (Eds.), Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality: Applications in Education, Aviation and Industry (pp. 208–220). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06015-1_15
2021
Campos, J. L., El-Khechen Richandi, G., Coahran, M., Fraser, L. E., Taati, B., & Keshavarz, B. (2021). Virtual Hand Illusion in younger and older adults. Journal of Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies Engineering, 8, 20556683211059388. https://doi.org/10.1177/20556683211059389
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Murovec, B., Spaniol, J., Campos, J. L., & Keshavarz, B. (2021). Multisensory Effects on Illusory Self-Motion (Vection): The Role of Visual, Auditory, and Tactile Cues. Multisensory Research, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1163/22134808-bja10058
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Cha, Y.-H., Golding, J., Keshavarz, B., Furman, J., Kim, J.-S., Lopez-Escamez, J. A., Magnusson, M., Yates, B. J., Lawson, B. D., Staab, J., & Bisdorff, A. (2021). Motion sickness diagnostic criteria: Consensus document of the classification committee of the Bárány society. Journal of Vestibular Research: Equilibrium & Orientation. https://doi.org/10.3233/VES-200005
Golding, J. F., Rafiq, A., & Keshavarz, B. (2021). Predicting Individual Susceptibility to Visually Induced Motion Sickness by Questionnaire. Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 2. https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2021.576871
D’Amour, S., Harris, L. R., Berti, S., & Keshavarz, B. (2021). The role of cognitive factors and personality traits in the perception of illusory self-motion (vection). Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-020-02228-3
Grove, C.R., Anson, E.R., & Keshavarz, B. (2021). Perceiving Is Believing: Understanding Verticality Perception, Navigation, and Motion Perception in Healthy and Impaired Populations. 2021 APTA Combined Sections Meeting (CSM).
2020
Hemmerich, W. A., Keshavarz, B., & Hecht, H. (2020). Visually Induced Motion Sickness on the Horizon: The Role of World-Centered vs Observer-Centered Reference Information. Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 1. https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2020.582095
Peck, K., Russo, F., Campos, J. L., & Keshavarz, B. (2020). Examining potential effects of arousal, valence, and likability of music on visually induced motion sickness. Experimental Brain Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-020-05871-2
Berti, S., & Keshavarz, B. (2020). Neuropsychological Approaches to Visually-Induced Vection: An Overview and Evaluation of Neuroimaging and Neurophysiological Studies. Multisensory Research, 1(aop), 1–34. https://doi.org/10.1163/22134808-bja10035
2019
Keshavarz, B., Campos, J. L., & Berti, S. (2019). Visually induced motion sensations: Preface to a special issue. Displays, 58, 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.displa.2019.04.003
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Keshavarz, B., Philipp-Muller, A. E., Hemmerich, W., Riecke, B. E., & Campos, J. L. (2019). The effect of visual motion stimulus characteristics on vection and visually induced motion sickness. Displays, 58, 71–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.displa.2018.07.005
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Berti, S., Haycock, B., Adler, J., & Keshavarz, B. (2019). Early cortical processing of vection-inducing visual stimulation as measured by event-related brain potentials (ERP). Displays, 58, 56–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.displa.2018.10.002
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Keshavarz, B., Saryazdi, R., Campos, J.L., Golding, J.F. (2019). Introducing the VIMSSQ: Measuring susceptibility to visually induced motion sickness. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 63(1), 2267-2271.
Hassan, A.R., Kabir, M., Keshavarz, B., Taati, B., & Yadollahi, A. (2019). Sigmoid Wake Probability Model for High-Resolution Detection of Drowsiness Using Electroencephalogram. 41st Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), 7080-7083.
2018
Campos, J., El-Khechen, G., Taati, B., & Keshavarz, B. (2018). The Rubber Hand Illusion in Healthy Younger and Older Adults. Multisensory Research, 31(6), 537-555. doi: 10.1163/22134808-00002614
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Keshavarz, B., Ramkhalawansingh, R., Haycock, B., Shahab, S., & Campos, J. (2018). Comparing simulator sickness in younger and older adults during simulated driving under different multisensory conditions. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology & Bahaviour, 54, 47-62. doi: 10.1016/j.trf.2018.01.007
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Muth, E., Keshavarz, B., Smart, L. J., So, R., & Beadle, S. (2018). Discussion Panel: Motion Sickness in Virtual Environments. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 62(1), 2043–2046. Doi:10.1177/1541931218621461
2017
D’Amour, S., Bos, J. E., & Keshavarz, B. (2017). The efficacy of airflow and seat vibration on reducing visually induced motion sickness. Experimental Brain Research, 235(9), 2811-2820. doi:10.1007/s00221-017-5009-1
Keshavarz, B., Speck, M., Haycock, B., & Berti, S. (2017). The effect of different presentation settings on vection and its interaction with motion direction and Field Independence. iPerception, 8(3), 2041669517707768. doi:10.1177/2041669517707768
Keshavarz, B., Novak, A. C., Hettinger, L. J., Stoffregen, T. A., & Campos, J. L. (2017). Passive Restraint Reduces Visually Induced Motion Sickness in Older Adults. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 23(1), 85-99. doi:10.1037/xap0000107
Keshavarz, B., Campos, J. L., DeLucia, P. R., & Oberfeld, D. (2017). Estimating the relative weights of visual and auditory tau versus heuristic-based cues for time-to-contact judgments in realistic, familiar scenes by older and younger adults. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 79(3), 929-944. doi:10.3758/s13414-016-1270-9
Ramkhalawansingh, R., Keshavarz, B., Haycock, B., Shahab, S., & Campos, J. L. (2017). Examining the Effect of Age on Visual–Vestibular Self-Motion Perception Using a Driving Paradigm. Perception, 46(5), 566-585 (published online first 2016). doi:10.1177/0301006616675883
2016
Ramkhalawansingh, R., Keshavarz, B., Haycock, B., Shahab, S., & Campos, J. (2016). Age-related differences on visual-auditory self-motion perception. Frontiers in Psychology, 7: 595. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00595
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Keshavarz, B. (2016). Exploring Behavioral Methods to Reduce Visually Induced Motion Sickness in Virtual Environments. In S. Lackey & R. Shumaker (Eds.), Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality (pp. 147–155). Springer International Publishing.
2015
Keshavarz, B., Campos, J., & Berti, S. (2015). Vection lies in the brain of the beholder: EEG parameters as an objective measurement of vection. Frontiers in Psychology, 6: 1581. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01581
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Keshavarz, B., Riecke, B.E., Hettinger, L.J., & Campos, J.L. (2015). Vection and visually induced motion sickness: How are they related? Frontiers in Psychology, 6: 472. Doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00472
Keshavarz, B., Stelzmann, D., Paillard, A., & Hecht, H. (2015). Visually induced motion sickness can be alleviated by pleasant odors. Experimental Brain Research, 233(5), 1353-64.doi:10.1007/s00221-015-4209-9
2014
Hecht. H., Shaffer, D., Keshavarz, B., & Flint, M. (2014). Slope estimation and viewing distance of observer. Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics, 769(6), 1729-1738. doi:10.3758/s13414-014-0702-7
Keshavarz, B., Hettinger, L., Kennedy, R. S., & Campos, J. (2014). Demonstrating the potential for dynamic auditory stimulation to contribute to motion sickness. PLoS ONE, 9(7): e101016. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0101016
Keshavarz, B. & Hecht, H. (2014). Pleasant music as a countermeasure against visually induced motion sickness. Applied Ergonomics, 45(3), 521-527. doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2013.07.009
Keshavarz, B., Hettinger, L., Vena, D., & Campos, J. (2014). Combined effects of auditory and visual cues on the perception of vection and motion sickness. Experimental Brain Research, 232(3), 827–836. doi:10.1007/s00221-013-3793-9
Keshavarz, B., & Berti, S. (2014). Integration of sensory information precedes the sensation of vection: A combined behavioral and event-related brain potential (ERP) study. Behavioural Brain Research, 259, 131–136. doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2013.10.045
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Keshavarz, B., Hecht, H., Lawson, B. D. (2014). Visually-Induced Motion Sickness: Causes, Characteristics, and Countermeasures. Stanney, K. M., & Hale, K. S. Handbook of virtual environments: Design, implementations, and applications. 2nd edition: 647-698.
Hettinger, L. J., Schmidt-Daly, T. N., Jones, D. L., Keshavarz, B. (2014). Illusory self-motion in virtual environments. Stanney, K. M., & Hale, K. S. Handbook of virtual environments: Design, implementations, and applications. 2nd edition: 435-465.
2012
Keshavarz, B., & Hecht, H. (2012). Stereoscopic viewing enhances visually induced motion sickness but sound does not. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 21(2), 213–228. doi:10.1162/PRES_a_00102
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Keshavarz, B. Hecht, H. (2012). Visually induced motion sickness and presence in videogames: The role of sound. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 56(1): 1763-1767.
2011
Keshavarz, B., & Hecht, H. (2011). Axis rotation and visually induced motion sickness: the role of combined roll, pitch, and yaw motion. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 82(11), 1023–1029. doi:10.3357/ASEM.3078.2011
Keshavarz, B., & Hecht, H. (2011). Validating an efficient method to quantify motion sickness. Human Factors, 53(4), 415–426.
Keshavarz, B., Hecht, H., & Zschutschke, L. (2011). Keshavarz, B., Hecht, H., & Zschutschke, L. (2011). Intra-visual conflict in visually induced motion sickness. Displays, 32(4), 181–188. doi:10.1016/j.displa.2011.05.009
2010
Keshavarz, B., Landwehr, K., Baures, R., Oberfeld, D., Hecht, H., & Benguigui, N. (2010). Age-correlated incremental consideration of velocity. Ecological Psychology, 22(3), 212–221. doi:10.1080/10407413.2010.496670
KEYNOTES & INVITED TALKS
Selected invited talks at conferences and institutions
KEYNOTES
DSC 2025
Motion sickness: A challenge in real and simulated driving situations. 24th Driving Simulation and eXtended Reality Conference & Exhibition, Stuttgart, Germany.
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​Auto UI 2023
An introduction to motion sickness in real and virtual driving situations. AUTO UI, 2nd international workshop of mitigating motion sickness. Ingolstadt, Germany.
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IEEE VR 2023
Motion sickness in VR: What we do (not) know. Workshop on Immersive Sickness Prevention (WISP), Shanghai, China (Virtual)
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VIMS 2020
Visually induced motion sickness: What do we (not) know? 7th International Conference on Visually Induced Motion Sensations, Hong Kong (virtual).
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First Congress on Motion Sickness 2019
Visually induced motion sickness: An overview. First Congress on Motion Sickness and the 15th European Society for Clinical Evaluation of Balance Disorders Meeting, Akureyri, Iceland.​​​
INVITED PRESENTATIONS
Cornell University
Real nausea from virtual scenes: An introduction to motion sickness in VR. Cornell XR group (2023), virtual.
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Boston VR
Motion sickness in virtual environments: An introduction. Boston VR meetup (2023), virtual.
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Access Alliance
Motion sickness in VR: A real challenge for virtual environments. Access Alliance meeting (2023), virtual.
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University of British Columbia
​​Multisensory self-motion perception in VR. Emerging Media Lab (2021), Vancouver, B. C.
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TU Ingolstadt
Driving simulation and motion sickness studies at KITE-Toronto Rehab (2019). Ingolstadt, Germany
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Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
The benefits and challenges of Virtual Reality applications (2019). Mainz, Germany.
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Simon Fraser University
Motion sickness in VR: Causes, characteristics, and treatments (2019). Vancouver, B.C.
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International Conference on Vestibular Rehabilitation
Causes and characteristics of visually induced motion sickness [plenary lecture] (2018). Chicago, IL, USA.
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The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Driving simulation studies and simulator sickness research at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (2018). Center for Injury and Prevention at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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Daimler AG
Simulator sickness: Underlying causes and characteristics (2018). Sindelfingen, Germany.​​​
PROJECTS
Selected ongoing research studies
BODY TEMPERATURE ANDÂ MOTION SICKNESS
Airflow has been shown to successfully reduce motion sickness in VR. In this study, I want to investigate the mechanisms behind this effect by recording participants body temperature during a simulated driving task.
MULTISENSORY VECTION
Several sensory cues affect the sensation of self-motion in VR. Here, I will investigate how vision, hearing, and touching alters vection and whether this changes as we age.
DROWSY DRIVING
Drowsiness is one of the Top 5 causes for car crashes. The goal of this project is to identify the best physiological measure that can predict episodes of drowsiness while driving.
Interested in participating in my research studies? Click below.