Virtual Reality (VR) headsets and it's health risks

4 points by aivijay 11 years ago | 5 comments

VR hardware has been a big break this 2015. A whole bunch of companies big and small with their headsets. I have tried some of the mobile headsets from cheap gogle cardboard types in plastic and a good version of Zeiss VR one headset as well. The experience is there at varying degrees. But one thing everyone talks about is motion sickness and I had problems with strains in my eye with VR one though it has good quality optics. How safe are these headsets in the long term for the eye for prolonged users? Another thing I notice is the brightness of some content which is quite bright and moving right in front of your eyes whether it be a video game or some 3d content. This surely has impact on our eyes as well compared to a console or a pc which is not in right in front of eyes but at a distance and most times some ambient light as well. What do you guys think about this in the long run? I do enjoy some of games and content with these headsets but as am trying out things I had been wondering how this is affecting my eyes.

insoluble 11 years ago |

A blackened scene with small, bright objects could be compared to a disco environment with black lights and glow sticks. Have there been any studies on discos and the long term effects on the eyes? Then again, I suppose this could not be much worse than driving at night while seeing all the oncoming headlights.

suyash 11 years ago |

It's bad for your eyes, imagine staring at a 50 foot 360 degree tv from up close, that is basically what VR experience is like. If you want to protect your eyes, be careful.

maxharris 11 years ago |

Motion sickness is not a problem if your graphics hardware is fast enough to run your particular application. Anything below 75 Hz makes me feel sick, and anything above that feels okay.

With respect to your eyes, I don't think there's any kind of issue if your VR experience is good. I certainly haven't noticed anything, and I've had a DK2 for about four months.

NeutronBoy 11 years ago | |

Motion sickness isn't exclusive to the 'video lag' - many people suffer from motion sickness as their brain tries the reconcile the difference in signals from your inner ear and your vision. The immediate reaction is that your body thinks you've ingested poison, hence the urge to vomit.

As far as I know, the only way to get over this is to 'train' your brain to ignore it.

Joona 11 years ago | |

I got motion sickness from Rift DK2. The low resolution was the most noticeable thing, so I think it's a combination of things. Plus, some people get motion sickness, some don't.