Virtual reality, long the stuff of sci-fi movies and expensive, disappointing gaming systems, appears poised for a breakout. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg spent $2 billion in 2014 to acquire Oculus VR and its Rift virtual-reality headsets. Google now sells a boxy cardboard viewer that lets users turn their smartphone screens into virtual-
reality wonderlands for a mere $15. And YouTube just introduced live, 360-degree streaming video.
There's a big barrier to the widespread use of this technology, though: Virtual reality often makes people sick.
Virtual-reality sickness isn't a new problem. It's been known as long as test pilots, test drivers, and potential astronauts have been practicing their skills in mock vehicles, though it was called simulator sickness in those cases. Not unlike motion sickness or seasickness, VR sickness has its roots in the mismatch between the visual and vestibular systems, said Jorge Serrador, a professor of pharmacology, physiology and neuroscience at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.
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