Up To 12% Of Americans Get Motion Sickness In Self-Driving Cars

According to a new report from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), users of autonomous cars are more likely to feel motion sickness than people riding in conventional cars.

First reported by GreenTechMedia, the outlet explains that the three causes of nausea -- “conflict between the inner ear and visual inputs, inability to anticipate the direction of motion, and lack of control over the direction of motion" -- are in play inside self-driving cars.

UMTRI data revealed that between 6 percent to 10 percent of American adults riding in fully autonomous vehicles “often, usually, or always” experienced some level of motion sickness. Another 6 percent to 12 percent said they had experienced “moderate or severe” motion sickness at some point of the ride.

Figures get worse in India, where up to 17 percent of adults experienced "moderate or severe" motion sickness during a typical trip. 

Related Link: Mercedes-Benz Wants To Lead The Way To Driverless Cars

The Latest Major Developments

Several publicly-traded companies are developing self-driving automobile technology.

Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) recently announced it will include a hands-free driving feature on Model S cars this summer via a software update. "If you're standing outside, you can press the button on your smartphone and the car will back up and come right in front of you," Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry told Benzinga.

Mercedes, additionally, presented its idea of a self-driving vehicle last month. Ola Källenius, Head of Sales and Marketing for Mercedes-Benz Cars, said the design's "Stop&Go Pilot does [provide], in some situations, complete autonomous drive. Gas, brake, steering -- the whole thing.”

Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) is also working on its own car. In January, Chris Urmson, director of Google's self-driving car initiative, said at the Automotive News World Congress the company does not currently plan to test its vehicles in areas where it snows.