Latest news with #motion sickness
News.com.au
01-07-2025
- Automotive
- News.com.au
Science reveals the truth of why you're feeling carsick in EVs
While electric vehicles are becoming increasingly popular for drivers around the world, many are realising that they can make you more carsick than conventional petrol cars. If you've found yourself questioning why you feel a little queasy behind the wheel of the future, don't worry. It's a real thing, and you're not the only one. According to multiple studies, there are very scientific reasons why a person may experience more motion sickness in an electric vehicle. Lack of previous experience Though EVs are becoming increasingly popular, most people's experiences with cars are based on combustion cars. If you've learnt how to drive in a conventional petrol car, you've likely adapted to their specific cues. According to a 2020 study published in Applied Ergonomics, the lack of a traditional engine sound could be an influencing factor to motion sickness. 'Being able to anticipate upcoming motion is known to potentially mitigate sickness resulting from provocative motion,' the 2020 study said. For example, upon pressing the accelerator pedal and hearing the rev of the engine, your brain will prepare you for the increase in speed. In an electric vehicle, drivers may experience a low hum or even no sound at all, making it harder for their brain to anticipate movement. 'If we are accustomed to travelling in non-EVs, we are used to understanding the car's motion based on signals such as engine revs, engine vibrations, torque, etc,' William Emond, a PhD student at the Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbéliard in France, explained to The Guardian. 'Yet, travelling in an EV for the first time is a new motion environment for the brain, which needs adaptation,' Regenerative braking Similarly, EV's 'regenerative braking' is also a contributing factor to nausea in drivers. For those unaware, regenerative braking is a system where the vehicle's kinetic energy is generated automatically through the action of braking, and routed back into the battery as usable power. Regenerative braking can cause motion sickness for EV drivers, especially for those who have the EVs set for max regenerative braking, or for those using one-pedal mode, as the act of simply lifting off the accelerator would cause the car to slow down dramatically. For drivers, it can feel like the car is slowing down when they haven't prepared for it, and throw off their balance. 'Better knowledge on self-motion allows us to anticipate motion forces, which is crucial for motion sickness,' Emond explained to The Guardian. 'Yet, when the motion forces as estimated or anticipated by the brain differ from what actually is experienced, then the brain interprets this 'neural mismatch' as a situation of conflict. 'If this conflict persists over time, it may surpass a threshold for triggering autonomic reactions of the body such as symptoms apparent to 'motion sickness'.' For those considering purchasing some new wheels, Australia's car market is undergoing one of its biggest shake-ups in decades, with some experts calling it the most dramatic shift in automotive history. Australia has become a viable market for Chinese car manufacturers which has lead to aggressive local pricing, especially from brands such as BYD, Chery and GWM. data services Director Ross Booth said much of the automotive growth is coming from electric and electrified vehicles. 'We're seeing a clear shift towards more fuel-efficient vehicles, with strong growth in New Energy Vehicles – which include hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and battery electric vehicles,' Mr Booth said. Hybrid and electric vehicle sales made up just 8 per cent of new cars in 2021, jumping to 25 per cent by the end of 2025.
South China Morning Post
30-06-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Ditch the dizziness: why EVs make people sick – and the tone solution trick
Last year, 13 million new electric vehicles rolled out onto China's roads as the country continued a rapid transition to new energy. But as eco-friendly rides begin to dominate transport, the new technology appears to be hauling old baggage – motion sickness. Advertisement After investigating growing numbers of reports of EV passengers feeling dizzy, nauseated or breaking into cold sweats, researchers in Japan may have come up with a low-tech solution for the hi-tech problem: a simple sound that can be downloaded and played before a passenger's next journey. Studies have revealed that EVs are more likely than conventional combustion engine vehicles to induce queasiness because of their unique acceleration and deceleration characteristics. According to researchers at Chongqing University and China Automotive Engineering Research Institute, motion sickness can affect the health as well as the comfort of vehicle passengers, who may often feel fidgety and tense while riding in the vehicles. For instance, regenerative braking systems can induce motion sickness, according to findings published last month by a team led by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou). Advertisement The system is a unique function in EVs that converts kinetic energy into electrical energy when the vehicle is slowing down to charge the vehicle's battery, resulting in low-frequency deceleration, which can provoke symptoms of motion sickness.
The Guardian
21-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Guardian
Do electric vehicles make people more carsick?
With electric cars skyrocketing in popularity around the world – in 2024, 22% of new car sales worldwide were electric vehicles, compared with 18% in 2023 – a growing body of studies and an increasing number of people have found that they feel more motion sick riding in EVs than in traditional petrol or diesel cars. Anecdotes of feeling sick in the passenger or back seat of electric cars litter social media, as do questions from wary prospective buyers. There is a scientific explanation behind why a person might feel more sick in an EV, though, according to multiple academic studies. 'Greater sickness in EVs can be attributed to a lack of previous experience, as both a driver and as a passenger, where the brain lacks accuracy in estimating the motion forces because it relies on previous experience in other types of cars,' said William Emond, a PhD student researching car sickness at the Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbéliard in France. Though EVs are becoming more popular, combustion cars still dominate. Riders have a longer history with gas cars and so have had more time to adapt to their specific cues. If a person has spent most of their life driving a combustion engine car, their brain anticipates acceleration after the rev of the engine, a warning that they are about to experience a change in speed. In a battery-powered car, the electric motor makes no such noises. In addition to general unfamiliarity, research has found links between specific features common to electric vehicles and motion sickness. One 2024 study concluded that there were strong correlations between motion sickness severity and the seat vibrations of electric vehicles, while a 2020 study found that the lack of engine sound in an EV might be a major contributing factor to increased feelings of carsickness. 'If we are accustomed to traveling in non-EVs, we are used to understanding the car's motion based on signals such as engine revs, engine vibrations, torque, etc. Yet, traveling in an EV for the first time is a new motion environment for the brain, which needs adaptation,' Emond explains. Additionally, the regenerative braking technology used in EVs – where the motor converts the slowing car's kinetic energy into electricity that then is stored in the battery – results in low-frequency deceleration, meaning that the vehicle slows down gradually and steadily, over a relatively longer period, rather than rapidly or in quick pulses. Such low-frequency deceleration tends to be associated with higher levels of motion sickness. A 2024 study suggested the feature acted as one of the main triggers of motion sickness in electric vehicles. The study's authors wrote: 'Our results confirmed that higher levels of RB [regenerative braking] can induce MS [motion sickness].' Motion sickness is thought to be caused by a mismatch between various sensory signals the brain simultaneously receives about the body's movement. Specifically, it happens when the inner ear, which helps control balance, the eyes, and the body send conflicting information to the brain. 'Better knowledge on self-motion allows us to anticipate motion forces, which is crucial for motion sickness. Yet, when the motion forces as estimated or anticipated by the brain differ from what actually is experienced, then the brain interprets this 'neural mismatch' as a situation of conflict,' Emond said. 'If this conflict persists over time, it may surpass a threshold for triggering autonomic reactions of the body such as symptoms apparent to 'motion sickness'.' Being able to anticipate the movement of a vehicle appears to be integral to the experience of motion sickness, which is why people who are driving a car don't tend to experience symptoms. They know what is coming. The interplay between anticipation of motion and actual motion experienced may be why EVs are associated with worse motion sickness, as these vehicles provide fewer clues regarding upcoming movements. 'When discovering a new motion environment, the brain needs to habituate because there is no knowledge of previous experience in such a context. This is, for example, why almost everyone becomes sick in zero-gravity environments,' Emond says. As EV ownership continues to increase, some researchers are already looking into a solution for the cars' specific type of nausea. Several research papers have suggested that motion sickness in autonomous EVs could be treated by using visual signals, such as interactive screens and ambient lighting, or vibrational cues to allow a passenger's brain to anticipate motion changes, alleviating the lurching feeling in the back of an electric taxi.
