Analysis for Comfortable Handling and Motion Sickness Minimization in Autonomous Vehicles Using Ergonomic Path Planning with Cost Function Evaluation

<div>Motion sickness is a human health issue that has existed for many years and now serves as the primary hindrance to the very existence of self-driving technology in Autonomous Vehicles (AV). This technology promises to transform drivers into passengers and simple cars into entertainment transportation pods. This potentially increases the likelihood of passengers getting motion sick and threatens the acceptance of commercial AV. The study presents a practical solution using ergonomic paths designed by transition curves such as 3-point B-splines and Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines (NURBS) to study their impact on passenger motion sickness and vehicle-handling behavior. Modern path-tracking models and algorithms equipped with Model Predictive Controller (MPC) and Sliding-Mode Controller (SMC) together with an eight degree of freedom (8 DOF) vehicle model have been used to simulate vehicle motions. The simulation results are evaluated using motion sickness thresholds and a novel cost function defined by four key objectives, based on handling comfort, lateral error, motion sickness, and postural instability. Evaluation of the cost function and motion sickness thresholds overwhelmingly favor the use of 3-point NURBS for maximizing handling comfort and minimizing motion sickness in AV.</div>