Henry Kam¹ (), Niall Williams¹, Jeffrey Lubin², James Bergen², Mikhail Sizintsev², Qi Sun¹, Colin Groth¹; ¹New York, ²SRI International

Cybersickness is a challenge that persists in wide field of view, near-eye displays, particularly when visual motion conflicts with vestibular signals. We analyzed how rotational camera movements contribute to cybersickness in optical see-through augmented reality (AR). Participants wore a Magic Leap 2 headset while viewing a head-locked rectangular viewport showing a virtual box-room with paintings on the walls. The virtual camera oscillated side to side while participants remained physically stationary, creating strong visual-vestibular conflict. Across three within-participant sessions, we tested the effect of different oscillatory rotation speeds (20 degrees, 30 degrees, 40 degrees per second) on cybersickness in AR. The highest speed was chosen as the average maximum level at which an adult is still able to perform smooth gaze pursuit. For each 45-second trial, participants completed a gaze-maintenance task to ensure consistent exposure to the optical flow: up to five red and blue paintings occasionally appeared and disappeared on the room walls. Participants kept their heads still while tracking the number of each colored painting over time. After each trial, users reported a Fast Motion Sickness (FMS) rating, and Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) scores were collected before and after each 15-minute session to quantify cybersickness change. A linear fit between rotational speed and SSQ change captured a weak linear dependence of cybersickness on visual motion parameters. As camera speed increased, more visual-vestibular conflict was induced (r^2 = 0.50). These results provide a compact perceptual model linking measurable properties of camera movement to cybersickness in AR. As a result, AR scene design can be quantified and monitored to create visually stable, and comfort-optimized AR experiences.

Acknowledgements: DARPA ICS: Intrinsic Cognitive Security