Biometric feedback used to prevent motion sickness in Korean military vehicle

A release says Hyundai Mobis has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Republic of Korea Marine Corps to implement its biometric system for motion sickness reduction.

Previously integrated into its Smart Cabin Controller feature for commercial vehicles, Hyundai Mobis’ system performs real-time monitoring of posture, heart rate, and brain waves. It then analyzes this biometric data to generate sensory stimuli for vision, hearing, smell and touch, which the firm says can reduce the symptoms of motion sickness by 40 percent, and outright prevent it in many cases.

For the military, the Seoul-based global automotive firm has amped up the biometric feedback system for harsh environments and rugged conditions, with enhanced movement-analysis and environmental perception sensors as well as easy-to-use displays for location data and climate control. (Useful in a vehicle that is essentially an aquatic tank.)

Many people are familiar with the feeling of nausea that occurs when visual information does not match what the body is feeling (for example, when reading in a moving car). However, the MoU is significant in marking the first application of Hyundai Mobis’s motion sickness reduction tech outside of conventional vehicles. Bucking the trend of technologies that germinate in the military and go on to wider adoption, motion sickness reduction is anticipated to move from the highway to the frontier, as its use cases grow beyond consumer-level – for example, the ability to monitor for drunk or drowsy drivers – to broader uses in defense, maritime and aviation transport.

Its deployment in South Korean amphibious assault vehicles will provide key data that will be used to further analyze and optimally calibrate the system.

As is the case with most touchpoints between innovation and personal data security in the biometrics field, the introduction of motion sickness reduction and other biometric technologies in cars has raised concerns among privacy groups about overreach and data privacy.

Article Topics

automotive biometrics  |  biometric monitoring  |  biometrics  |  military  |  real-time biometrics  |  South Korea