Study says autonomous vehicles will increase risk of motion sickness

A study conducted by the students of University of Michigan says autonomous vehicles will increase the risks of motion sickness.

More than 3,200 adults in United States, Japan, China, India, Australia and UK were asked by Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle of the U-M Transportation Research Institute what they would do inside a fully autonomous car. More than a third of Americans said they would likely read, text, watch a movie/TV, work or play video games. More than 50% of Indians, 40% of Chinese, 26-30% of Japanese, Australians and British people questioned would do the same.

As a consequence, the study has found out that 6-12% of American adults inside these cars "would be expected to experience moderate or severe motion sickness at some time." The U-M report also states that more than 60% of Americans would sleep, talk or watch the road while inside a driverless car so these activities would not necessarily lead to nausea or similar issues.

While the study's findings are far from being a surprise, Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle say that automakers have the possibility of designing their cars to diminish the risk of motion sickness by installing large windows, fully reclining seats and allowing passengers to face each other to create a more relaxing environment.