ABSTRACT
The chapter focuses on contributing to the advancement of VE technology by promoting a better understanding of human physiological limitations that impede its widespread use and identifying techniques that can render VE systems more usable, useful, and accessible. This is done through the investigation of factors known to affect the level of adverse effects associated with VE exposure, including system design parameters (i.e. degrees of freedom [DOF] of user control and scene complexity), usage variables (i.e. exposure duration and intersession interval), and individual characteristics (i.e. susceptibility and gender). The major objectives being addressed through this chapter and their expected significance are as follows: (1) increase exposure durations and its overall proportions via theorized design guidelines and usage protocols (i.e. exposure management techniques) that depress the stimulus intensity of a VE system and drive acclimation; (2) decrease dropout rates via theorized design guidelines and usage protocols that afford repeated VE exposures with systematically determined intersession intervals; and (3) create equal opportunity for VE system use despite motion sickness susceptibility.
