Sony Patent | Motion sickness state determination system, biological information acquisition device, surrounding environment information acquisition device, motion sickness state determination device, and motion sickness state determination method

Patent: Motion sickness state determination system, biological information acquisition device, surrounding environment information acquisition device, motion sickness state determination device, and motion sickness state determination method

Drawings: Click to check drawins

Publication Number: 20220047196

Publication Date: 20220217

Applicant: Sony

Abstract

An object of the present technology is to accurately determine a motion sickness state of an individual subject. The present technology provides a motion sickness state determination system (1) that includes a first index acquisition unit (12) that acquires biological information of a subject as a first motion sickness state index, a second index acquisition unit (13) that acquires a second motion sickness state index on the basis of movement information regarding a movement of the subject and/or surrounding environment information perceived by the subject, and a motion sickness state determination unit (14) that determines whether or not the subject will be in a motion sickness state or is in the motion sickness state on the basis of the first motion sickness state index and the second motion sickness state index. Furthermore, the present technology also provides a motion sickness state determination device (10), a biological information acquisition device (20), and a surrounding environment information acquisition device (30) included in the system, and a motion sickness state determination method.

Claims

1. A motion sickness state determination system comprising: a first index acquisition unit configured to acquire biological information of a subject as a first motion sickness state index; a second index acquisition unit configured to acquire a second motion sickness state index on a basis of movement information regarding a movement of the subject and/or surrounding environment information perceived by the subject; and a motion sickness state determination unit configured to determine whether or not the subject will be in a motion sickness state or is in the motion sickness state on a basis of the first motion sickness state index and the second motion sickness state index.

2. The motion sickness state determination system according to claim 1, further comprising: a motion sickness state control unit configured to control the motion sickness state of the subject on a basis of a determination result of the motion sickness state determination unit.

3. The motion sickness state determination system according to claim 2, wherein the motion sickness state control unit determines processing content used to control the motion sickness state on a basis of information acquired from a database.

4. The motion sickness state determination system according to claim 1, wherein the motion sickness state of the subject is determined in real time.

5. The motion sickness state determination system according to claim 1, wherein in a case where both of the first motion sickness state index and the second motion sickness state index satisfy references set for the respective indexes, the motion sickness state determination unit determines that the subject will be in the motion sickness state or is in the motion sickness state.

6. The motion sickness state determination system according to claim 1, wherein the biological information includes information regarding an enzyme derived from the subject.

7. The motion sickness state determination system according to claim 6, wherein the enzyme includes an amylase.

8. The motion sickness state determination system according to claim 1, wherein the movement information is movement information regarding a movement of a body of the subject, the surrounding environment information is video information regarding a video visually perceived by the subject, and the second index acquisition unit acquires a second motion sickness state index on a basis of the movement information and the video information.

9. The motion sickness state determination system according to claim 8, wherein the movement information is first acceleration information based on the movement of the body of the subject, the surrounding environment information is second acceleration information based on a video visually perceived by the subject, and the second index acquisition unit acquires a second motion sickness state index on a basis of the first acceleration information and the second acceleration information.

10. The motion sickness state determination system according to claim 9, wherein the second index acquisition unit acquires a difference between the first acceleration information and the second acceleration information as the second motion sickness state index.

11. The motion sickness state determination system according to claim 8, further comprising: a motion sickness state control unit configured to apply a current to a head of the subject on a basis of a determination result of the motion sickness state determination unit.

12. The motion sickness state determination system according to claim 1, wherein the surrounding environment information is odor information regarding an odor perceived by sense of smell by the subject, and the second index acquisition unit acquires a second motion sickness state index on a basis of the odor information.

13. The motion sickness state determination system according to claim 12, wherein the second index acquisition unit acquires an intensity of a predetermined type of odor as the second motion sickness state index.

14. The motion sickness state determination system according to claim 12, further comprising: a motion sickness state control unit configured to present an odor to the subject or remove an odor around the subject on a basis of a determination result of the motion sickness state determination unit.

15. The motion sickness state determination system according to claim 1, further comprising: an output unit configured to output a determination result of the motion sickness state determination unit.

16. A biological information acquisition device comprising a biological information acquisition unit configured to acquire biological information of a subject, wherein the biological information acquisition device is used in combination with an index acquisition device that acquires a motion sickness state index on a basis of movement information regarding a movement of the subject and/or surrounding environment information perceived by the subject in order to determine a motion sickness state of the subject.

17. A surrounding environment information acquisition device comprising: a surrounding environment information acquisition unit configured to acquire surrounding environment information perceived by a subject, wherein the surrounding environment information acquisition device is used in combination with a biological information acquisition device that acquires biological information of the subject as a motion sickness state index in order to determine a motion sickness state of the subject.

18. A motion sickness state determination device comprising: a first index acquisition unit configured to acquire biological information of a subject as a first motion sickness state index; a second index acquisition unit configured to acquire a second motion sickness state index on a basis of movement information regarding a movement of the subject and/or surrounding environment information perceived by the subject; and a motion sickness state determination unit configured to determine whether or not the subject will be in a motion sickness state or is in the motion sickness state on a basis of the first motion sickness state index and the second motion sickness state index.

19. A motion sickness state determination method comprising: a first index acquisition process for acquiring biological information of a subject as a first motion sickness state index; a second index acquisition process for acquiring a second motion sickness state index on a basis of movement information regarding a movement of the subject and/or surrounding environment information perceived by the subject; and a motion sickness state determination process for determining whether or not the subject will be in a motion sickness state or is in the motion sickness state on a basis of the first motion sickness state index and the second motion sickness state index.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present technology relates to a motion sickness state determination system, a biological information acquisition device, a surrounding environment information acquisition device, and a motion sickness state determination method. More specifically, the present technology relates to a motion sickness state determination system that determines a motion sickness state of a subject on the basis of two motion sickness state indexes, a biological information acquisition device, a surrounding environment information acquisition device, and a motion sickness state determination device included in the system, and a motion sickness state determination method for determining the motion sickness state of the subject on the basis of the two motion sickness state indexes.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] Many people suffer from motion sickness in vehicles such as automobiles, buses, ships, or airplanes in their daily lives, and there is a great need for countermeasures. Furthermore, in recent years, a motion sickness caused when a virtual reality (VR) game that has been rapidly widespread is continuously played has been a big issue that is discussed in academic conferences and International telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0003] As a countermeasure against the motion sickness, medicines mainly including antihistamine are sold generally. The functionality of the medicine has been improved, for example, a duration time of an effect of a single dose is lengthened or the medicine can be taken without water.

[0004] Some countermeasures have been proposed not only from the viewpoint of medicines but also from the viewpoint of devices. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle occupant posture control device that prevents occurrence of a motion sickness of an occupant. The device includes a plurality of detection units that detects information around a vehicle and a state of each vehicle, a change unit that changes a supporting state of a support unit that supports the body of the occupant, and a driving control unit that generates a traveling plan on the basis of the detection result of the detection unit, controls driving of the vehicle according to the generated traveling plan, predicts accelerations in the vehicle front-back direction and the vehicle width direction generated in the vehicle after a predetermined time elapses from the current time on the basis of the generated traveling plan, starts to change the supporting state according to the predicted acceleration, and controls the change unit so as to set the supporting state according to the predicted acceleration before a predetermined time elapses.

[0005] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a wearable device that has a low frequency wave generation function for transmitting low frequency waves to the median nerve of the wrist so that nausea and vomiting due to the motion sickness, morning sickness, drugs, or the like can be effectively blocked. The device is worn on the wrist and includes a main body that includes a low frequency wave generation unit that generates the low frequency waves.

[0006] As countermeasures against VR sickness, countermeasures using visual effects are considered, for example, an acceleration effect in a game video is visualized, a field of view in a video is intentionally narrowed, and a line-of-sight direction of a user is clearly indicated in a video.

CITATION LIST

Patent Document

[0007] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-71370 [0008] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-511453

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0009] However, in a case where the medicine is used as the countermeasure against the motion sickness, a motion sickness suppressing effect may differ depending on the constitution of the user or the daily physical condition of the user, or for example, side effects such as drowsiness, or a feeling of malaise may occur. The medicine needs to be taken 30 minutes to one hour before a time when the effect is expected, and does not have immediacy. Moreover, many people are saying in actual that it is not desirable to make children take medicines.

[0010] Furthermore, the methods disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not detect occurrence or a sign of a motion sickness state according to an individual user and are not able to effectively prevent the motion sickness.

[0011] Furthermore, the visual effect for VR sickness countermeasures is first created with a feeling of a game developer, and then, the created visual effect is finally adjusted on the basis of play questionnaires of the limited number of test users. Therefore, the motion sickness suppressing effect may differ for each user. Moreover, in anticipation of wider spread of the VR in the future, it is assumed that a wider variety of users play VR games. Therefore, it is easily estimated that it is more difficult to expect the effects.

[0012] As described above, it is required to accurately determine a motion sickness state of an individual user. Furthermore, it is required to effectively prevent or suppress the motion sickness state. Moreover, it is desirable to cope with the motion sickness state in real time, and in addition, it is desirable that the method for coping with the motion sickness state has no side effects and high immediacy.

[0013] An object of the present technology is to provide a new technique for solving at least one of the above problems.

Solutions to Problems

[0014] The present inventors have found that the above problems can be solved by a motion sickness state determination system having a specific configuration.

[0015] That is, the present technology provides a motion sickness state determination system that includes a first index acquisition unit that acquires biological information of a subject as a first motion sickness state index, a second index acquisition unit that acquires a second motion sickness state index on the basis of movement information regarding a movement of the subject and/or surrounding environment information perceived by the subject, and a motion sickness state determination unit that determines whether or not the subject will be in a motion sickness state or is in the motion sickness state on the basis of the first motion sickness state index and the second motion sickness state index.

[0016] The motion sickness state determination system may further include a motion sickness state control unit that controls the motion sickness state of the subject on the basis of the determination result of the motion sickness state determination unit.

[0017] The motion sickness state control unit may determine processing content used to control the motion sickness state on the basis of information acquired from a database.

[0018] The motion sickness state determination system may determine the motion sickness state of the subject in real time.

[0019] In a case where both of the first motion sickness state index and the second motion sickness state index satisfy references set for the respective indexes, the motion sickness state determination unit may determine that the subject will be in the motion sickness state or is in the motion sickness state.

[0020] The biological information may include information regarding an enzyme derived from the subject.

[0021] The enzyme may be an amylase.

[0022] According to one embodiment of the present technology, the movement information is movement information regarding a movement of a body of the subject, the surrounding environment information is video information regarding a video that is visually perceived by the subject, and the second index acquisition unit may acquire a second motion sickness state index on the basis of the movement information and the video information.

[0023] In the embodiment, the movement information is first acceleration information based on the movement of the body of the subject, the surrounding environment information is second acceleration information based on the video visually perceived by the subject, and the second index acquisition unit may acquire a second motion sickness state index on the basis of the first acceleration information and the second acceleration information.

[0024] In the embodiment, the second index acquisition unit may acquire a difference between the first acceleration information and the second acceleration information as the second motion sickness state index.

[0025] In the embodiment, a motion sickness state control unit may be further included that applies a current to the head of the subject on the basis of the determination result of the motion sickness state determination unit.

[0026] According to another embodiment of the present technology, the surrounding environment information is odor information regarding an odor perceived by sense of smell by the subject, and the second index acquisition unit may acquire a second motion sickness state index on the basis of the odor information.

[0027] In the embodiment, the second index acquisition unit may acquire an intensity of a predetermined type of odor as the second motion sickness state index.

[0028] In the embodiment, a motion sickness state control unit may be further included that presents an odor to the subject or removes an odor around the subject on the basis of the determination result of the motion sickness state determination unit.

[0029] The motion sickness state determination system according to the present technology may further include an output unit that outputs the determination result of the motion sickness state determination unit.

[0030] Furthermore, the present technology provides a biological information acquisition device that includes a biological information acquisition unit that acquires biological information of a subject and is used in combination with an index acquisition device that acquires a motion sickness state index on the basis of movement information regarding a movement of the subject and/or surrounding environment information perceived by the subject in order to determine a motion sickness state of the subject.

[0031] Furthermore, the present technology provides a surrounding environment information acquisition device that includes a surrounding environment information acquisition unit that acquires surrounding environment information perceived by a subject and is used in combination with a biological information acquisition device that acquires biological information of the subject as a motion sickness state index in order to determine a motion sickness state of the subject.

[0032] Furthermore, the present technology provides a motion sickness state determination device that includes a first index acquisition unit that acquires biological information of a subject as a first motion sickness state index, a second index acquisition unit that acquires a second motion sickness state index on the basis of movement information regarding a movement of the subject and/or surrounding environment information perceived by the subject, and a motion sickness state determination unit that determines whether or not the subject will be in a motion sickness state or is in the motion sickness state on the basis of the first motion sickness state index and the second motion sickness state index.

[0033] Furthermore, the present technology provides a motion sickness state determination method that includes a first index acquisition process for acquiring biological information of a subject as a first motion sickness state index, a second index acquisition process for acquiring a second motion sickness state index on the basis of movement information regarding a movement of the subject and/or surrounding environment information perceived by the subject, and a motion sickness state determination process for determining whether or not the subject will be in a motion sickness state or is in the motion sickness state on the basis of the first motion sickness state index and the second motion sickness state index.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0034] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the principle of a motion sickness.

[0035] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining mismatch between vestibular information and visual information.

[0036] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example of a motion sickness state determination system according to a first embodiment of the present technology.

[0037] FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram of an example of an enzyme sensor.

[0038] FIG. 4B is a block diagram of an example of the enzyme sensor.

[0039] FIG. 4C is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the enzyme sensor.

[0040] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a motion sickness state determination system of a first example according to the first embodiment.

[0041] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the motion sickness state determination system of the first example according to the first embodiment.

[0042] FIG. 7 is an example of a flowchart of motion sickness state determination processing by the motion sickness state determination system of the first example according to the first embodiment.

[0043] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a fluctuation in an amylase activity.

[0044] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating another configuration example of the motion sickness state determination system of the first example according to the first embodiment.

[0045] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a cloud database.

[0046] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a current to be applied.

[0047] FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a motion sickness state determination system of a second example according to the first embodiment.

[0048] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the motion sickness state determination system of the second example according to the first embodiment.

[0049] FIG. 14 is an example of a flowchart of motion sickness state determination processing by the motion sickness state determination system of the second example according to the first embodiment.

[0050] FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a motion sickness state determination system of a third example according to the first embodiment.

[0051] FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the motion sickness state determination system of the third example according to the first embodiment.

[0052] FIG. 17 is an example of a flowchart of motion sickness state determination processing by the motion sickness state determination system of the third example according to the first embodiment.

[0053] FIG. 18 is a block diagram of a motion sickness state determination system of a fourth example according to the first embodiment.

[0054] FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the motion sickness state determination system of the fourth example according to the first embodiment.

[0055] FIG. 20 is an example of a flowchart of motion sickness state determination processing by the motion sickness state determination system of the fourth example according to the first embodiment.

[0056] FIG. 21 is a block diagram of a motion sickness state determination system of a fifth example according to the first embodiment.

[0057] FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the motion sickness state determination system of the fifth example according to the first embodiment.

[0058] FIG. 23 is an example of a flowchart of motion sickness state determination processing by the motion sickness state determination system of the fifth example according to the first embodiment.

[0059] FIG. 24 is a block diagram of a motion sickness state determination system of a sixth example according to the first embodiment.

[0060] FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the motion sickness state determination system of the sixth example according to the first embodiment.

[0061] FIG. 26 is an example of a flowchart of motion sickness state determination processing by the motion sickness state determination system of the sixth example according to the first embodiment.

[0062] FIG. 27 is an example of a flowchart of a motion sickness state determination method according to the present technology.

[0063] FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of a motion sickness state determination device according to the present technology.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0064] Preferred embodiments for carrying out the present technology will be described below. Note that embodiments to be described below indicate representative embodiments of the present technology, and the scope of the present technology is not limited to only these embodiments. Note that description of the present technology will be made in the following order.

[0065] 1. First Embodiment (motion sickness state determination system)

[0066] (1) Description of First Embodiment

[0067] (2) First Example of First Embodiment (example of determination based on amylase activity and acceleration)

[0068] (3) Second Example of First Embodiment (application example to VR devices)

[0069] (4) Third Example of First Embodiment (application example to VR game development)

[0070] (5) Fourth Example of First Embodiment (application example to attractions in amusement parks)

[0071] (6) Fifth Example of First Embodiment (application example to training simulators)

[0072] (7) Sixth Example of First Embodiment (example of determination based on amylase activity and odor)

[0073] 2. Second Embodiment (biological information acquisition device)

[0074] 3. Third Embodiment (surrounding environment information acquisition device)

[0075] 4. Fourth Embodiment (motion sickness state determination device)

[0076] 5. Fifth Embodiment (motion sickness state determination method)

1. First Embodiment (Motion Sickness State Determination System)

[0077] (1) Description of First Embodiment

[0078] In a motion sickness state determination system according to the present technology, it is determined whether or not a subject will be in a motion sickness state or is in the motion sickness state on the basis of a first motion sickness state index that is biological information of the subject and a second motion sickness state index acquired on the basis of movement information regarding a movement of the subject and/or surrounding environment information perceived by the subject. By determining the motion sickness state of the subject on the basis of the two indexes, it is possible to appropriately determine the motion sickness state of the subject. Moreover, because the motion sickness state determination system according to the present technology can appropriately determine the motion sickness state of the subject, it is possible to appropriately prevent or suppress the motion sickness state.

[0079] Hereinafter, the principle of a motion sickness will be described first, and then, a first embodiment according to the present technology will be described in detail.

[0080] (1-1) Principle of Motion Sickness

[0081] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the principle of a motion sickness. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the vestibular organ is in the inner ear. The vestibular organ is an acceleration detection organ of a human body, and can sense a linear movement and a rotational acceleration. The vestibular organ includes the semicircular canal and the otolith organ. The semicircular canal senses motions in all of three-dimensional directions (rotational acceleration), and the otolith organ senses motions in the straight direction (linear acceleration) and the gravity. Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 1, humans visually acquire visual information, for example, external landscapes or the like.

[0082] There is a case where the information sensed by the vestibular organ and the visual information visually perceived mismatch, for example, in a case where the subject is moving on a vehicle and in a case where the subject is watching a video with a VR device. A schematic diagram for explaining the mismatch between the vestibular information and the visual information is illustrated in FIG. 2. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the mismatch may occur, for example, in a case where the acceleration sensed by the vestibular organ is larger than the acceleration based on the visual information visually perceived. The reverse mismatch can also occur. Furthermore, there is a case where the acceleration is not visually recognized although the vestibular organ senses the acceleration. In addition, there is a case where the vestibular organ does not sense the acceleration although the acceleration is visually recognized.

[0083] The mismatch between the vestibular information and the visual information may cause a motion sickness state. The mismatch of these pieces of information is notified to the amygdaloid complex of the limbic system, and it is determined whether the information is pleasant or unpleasant. In a case where these pieces of information are determined as unpleasant information, the motion sickness state may occur. For example, the unpleasant information stimulates the sympathetic nervous system via the hypothalamus, and secretes stress hormones into the body. The stress hormones may cause a reaction of a human body indicating the motion sickness state. The reactions of the human body include, for example, pallor of the face, cold sweat, and secretion of saliva. When the motion sickness state further proceeds, vomiting or a large fluctuation of the blood pressure may occur. In this way, in a case where a human will be in the motion sickness state or is in the motion sickness state, various biological reactions occur.

[0084] Furthermore, in addition to the mismatch of the pieces of information, for example, an environmental cause around the human such as an odor, temperature, or humidity may cause the motion sickness state. For example, smell in an automobile may cause a motion sickness.

[0085] (1-2) Details of First Embodiment

[0086] A schematic block diagram of an example of a motion sickness state determination system according to the first embodiment of the present technology is illustrated in FIG. 3. A motion sickness state determination system 1 illustrated in FIG. 3 includes a motion sickness state determination device 10, a biological information acquisition device 20, and a surrounding environment information acquisition device 30. Each of these devices will be described below.

[0087] The motion sickness state determination device 10 includes a control unit 11. The control unit 11 includes a first index acquisition unit 12, a second index acquisition unit 13, and a motion sickness state determination unit 14. The motion sickness state determination device 10 may further include or does not need to include a motion sickness state control unit 15. The motion sickness state determination device 10 may further include or does not need to include a motion sensor 16.

[0088] The control unit 11 may include, for example, a hard disk, a CPU or MPU, and a memory that store programs and an OS used to make the motion sickness state determination device 10 execute motion sickness state determination processing to be described below herein. For example, a function of the control unit 11 may be implemented by a general-purpose computer. The program may be recorded in a recording medium, for example, a microSD memory card, an SD memory card, a flash memory, or the like. A drive included in the motion sickness state determination device 10 may read the program recorded in the recording medium, and then, the control unit 11 may make the motion sickness state determination device 10 execute the motion sickness state determination processing according to the present technology in accordance with the read program.

[0089] The first index acquisition unit 12 acquires biological information as a first motion sickness state index. As described above, in a case where a human will be in the motion sickness state or is in the motion sickness state, various biological reactions occur. Information regarding these biological reactions may be acquired as the first motion sickness state index.

[0090] The biological information may be the biological information acquired by the biological information acquisition device 20 to be described later, and the motion sickness state determination device 10 may receive the biological information from the biological information acquisition device 20.

[0091] The second index acquisition unit 13 acquires a second motion sickness state index on the basis of movement information regarding a movement of a subject and/or surrounding environment information perceived by the subject.

[0092] The motion sensor 16 acquires the movement information. As the motion sensor 16, for example, an acceleration sensor and/or a gyro sensor may be used, and more preferably, an acceleration sensor is used. The acceleration sensor is preferably a three-axis acceleration sensor, and the acceleration sensor can detect an acceleration similar to an acceleration sensed by the vestibular organ. The motion sensor 16 may be configured as a part of the motion sickness state determination device 10 or the surrounding environment information acquisition device 30, and more preferably, may be configured as a part of the motion sickness state determination device 10. The motion sickness state determination device 10 may receive the movement information from the motion sensor.

[0093] FIG. 3 illustrates a mode in which the motion sickness state determination device 10 includes the motion sensor 16. The motion sensor 16 may be configured as a device different from the motion sickness state determination device 10.

[0094] Furthermore, the surrounding environment information is used to acquire the second motion sickness state index. However, in a case where the movement information is not used, the motion sickness state determination system 1 does not need to include the motion sensor 16. For example, in a case where the second motion sickness state index is acquired on the basis of only odor information, the motion sickness state determination system 1 does not need to include the motion sensor.

[0095] The surrounding environment information is information regarding an environment around the subject and may be, for example, information regarding surrounding information visually perceived and/or perceived by sense of smell by the subject.

[0096] The surrounding environment information that is visually perceived may be, for example, video information (also referred to as “video data”) visually recognized by the subject. The video information may be a video of an external landscape or may be a video presented to the subject from a display (particularly, head mounted display). The video of the external landscape may be acquired by, for example, an image sensor. The image sensor may be, for example, a CMOS or a CCD.

[0097] The surrounding environment information perceived by sense of smell may be, for example, an odor. The odor may be acquired by, for example, an odor sensor. The odor sensor can include, for example, a conductometric type odor sensor (chemoresistor), a capacitive type odor sensor (chemocapacitor), a potentiometric type odor sensor (chemodiode, chemotransistor, or the like), a calorimetric type odor sensor (thermo-chemosensor), a gravimetric type odor sensor, an optical type odor sensor, and an electrochemical type odor sensor, and any one of these odor sensors may be used.

[0098] In a case where the surrounding environment information is the video of the external landscape, the surrounding environment information acquisition device 30 including the image sensor acquires video information of the external landscape, and the surrounding environment information acquisition device 30 may transmit the video information of the external landscape to the motion sickness state determination device 10.

[0099] In a case where the surrounding environment information is the video presented to the subject from the display, the surrounding environment information acquisition device 30 including the image sensor may acquire the video information presented by the display, or the surrounding environment information acquisition device 30 may acquire the video information, for example, from the display or a video processing device that controls the display, or the like. The surrounding environment information acquisition device 30 may transmit the video information to the motion sickness state determination device 10.

[0100] In a case where the surrounding environment information is odor information, the surrounding environment information acquisition device 30 including the odor sensor may acquire the odor information. The surrounding environment information acquisition device 30 may transmit the odor information to the motion sickness state determination device 10.

[0101] As described above, the motion sickness state may be triggered by the mismatch between the vestibular information and the visual information. According to one embodiment of the present technology, the second index acquisition unit may acquire, for example, information regarding the mismatch on the basis of the movement information and the surrounding environment information as a second motion sickness state index. In this embodiment, in addition to the information regarding the mismatch, the odor information may be acquired as the second motion sickness state index.

[0102] Furthermore, the motion sickness state may be triggered by, for example, an odor. According to the other embodiment of the present technology, the second index acquisition unit may acquire, for example, the information regarding the odor as the second motion sickness state index on the basis of the surrounding environment information.

[0103] The motion sickness state determination unit 14 determines whether or not the subject will be in a motion sickness state or is in the motion sickness state on the basis of the first motion sickness state index and the second motion sickness state index. By determining the motion sickness state of the subject on the basis of these two indexes, an effect is obtained such that the motion sickness state of each subject can be more accurately determined. The effect will be specifically described below.

[0104] In the motion sickness state, as described above, biological reactions such as sweating, pallor of the face, or the like may occur. However, the biological reaction does not necessarily indicate a sign of a motion sickness. In the motion sickness state determination system according to the present technology, the first index acquisition unit acquires the biological information, and in addition, the second index acquisition unit acquires the second motion sickness state index on the basis of the movement information and/or the surrounding environment information. By determining the motion sickness state on the basis of the second motion sickness state index in addition to the first motion sickness state index, it is possible to more accurately determine a motion sickness state of each subject.

[0105] Furthermore, as described above, the motion sickness state may be triggered by the mismatch between the vestibular information and the visual information. However, even if the mismatch occurs, for example, there is a case where the subject is not in the motion sickness state depending on the constitution or physical condition of the subject. In the motion sickness state determination system according to the present technology, the second index acquisition unit detects, for example, the mismatch between the vestibular information and the visual information, and in addition, the first index acquisition unit acquires the biological information as the first motion sickness state index. By determining the motion sickness state on the basis of the first motion sickness state index in addition to the second motion sickness state index, it is possible to more accurately determine the motion sickness state of each subject.

[0106] As described above, in a case where both of the first motion sickness state index and the second motion sickness state index satisfy references set for the respective indexes, the motion sickness state determination unit 14 may determine that the subject will be in the motion sickness state or is in the motion sickness state.

[0107] As described above, the motion sickness state determination system according to the present technology can accurately determine the motion sickness state of each subject. Therefore, the determination result makes it possible to more appropriately cope with the motion sickness state according to the individual subject as described below.

[0108] As described above, the motion sickness state may be triggered by the mismatch between the vestibular information and the visual information. In the motion sickness state determination system according to the present technology, the second index acquisition unit may detect, for example, the mismatch between the vestibular information and the visual information. Therefore, it is possible to apply a stimulus to correct the mismatch to the subject.

[0109] Furthermore, as described above, even if the mismatch occurs, for example, there is a case where the subject is not in the motion sickness state depending on the constitution or the physical condition of the subject. In the motion sickness state determination system according to the present technology, the first index acquisition unit acquires the biological information as the first motion sickness state index. In a case where it is determined that the subject is not in the motion sickness state on the basis of the biological information, it is not necessary to apply the stimulus to correct the mismatch to subject, and it is possible to prevent the unnecessary stimulus to the subject in this case.

[0110] From the viewpoint of appropriate coping with the motion sickness state described above, the motion sickness state determination system according to the present technology may further include the motion sickness state control unit 15 that controls the motion sickness state of the subject on the basis of the determination result of the motion sickness state determination unit. Content of processing executed by the motion sickness state control unit is based on the determination result of the motion sickness state determination unit. Therefore, as described above, more accurate countermeasures can be taken according to each subject.

[0111] The motion sickness state control unit 15 may determine content of processing for controlling the motion sickness state, preferably, on the basis of information acquired from a database. The database may be included in the motion sickness state determination device 10 or may be outside the motion sickness state determination device 10. The database may record, for example, use information of the motion sickness state determination device 10 by the subject. The database may be used as a search database for searching the content of the processing executed by the motion sickness state control unit 15. The database may record use information of the motion sickness state determination device 10 by other subject. On the basis of these pieces of use information, it is possible to optimize the content of the processing executed by the motion sickness state control unit 15. Therefore, it is possible to more effectively control the motion sickness state. Moreover, it is possible to suppress or eliminate side effects caused by the motion sickness state control.

[0112] The use information includes, for example, the first motion sickness state index, the second motion sickness state index, the determination result by the motion sickness state determination unit, the content of the processing executed by the motion sickness state control unit 15 on the basis of the determination result, and the biological information of the subject after the processing. However, the use information is not limited to these.

[0113] The database may record physical information of various subjects other than the subject, in addition to physical information of a subject who uses this system. The physical information may include, for example, at least one or a combination of two or more pieces of information selected from a group including a gender, an age, a height, and a weight. For example, the motion sickness state control unit 15 may optimize the processing content on the basis of the use information of the other subject having the physical information similar to the subject who uses the motion sickness state determination device 10.

[0114] Particularly, the database is preferably a cloud database. The cloud database may accumulate the use information as needed. Then, more appropriate processing may be selected on the basis of the accumulated database.

[0115] As the processing for controlling the motion sickness state, for example, the motion sickness state control unit 15 may apply a stimulus to prevent or suppress the motion sickness state to the subject, apply a stimulus to trigger the motion sickness state to the subject, or improve surrounding environment that causes the motion sickness state. The processing executed by the motion sickness state control unit 15 may include, for example, one, two, or three selected from among application of a current to the subject, presentation of an odor to the subject, removal of the an odor around the subject. The application of the current may be preferably Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation (also referred to as GVS below). The GVS is to apply a weak external current of several mA to the vestibule, and this can give an illusion of the acceleration to the brain. A more specific example of the processing executed by the motion sickness state control unit 15 will be described in (2) to (7) below.

[0116] The motion sickness state determination device 10 preferably determines the motion sickness state of the subject in real time. For example, motion sickness state determination processing described below is continuously or periodically executed. With this processing, the motion sickness state can be accurately determined according to a change in environment where the subject who uses the motion sickness state determination device 10 is positioned or a change in the subject, and it is possible to execute more appropriate treatment to prevent or suppress the motion sickness state.

[0117] A hardware configuration example of the motion sickness state determination device according to the present technology will be described below with reference to FIG. 28.

[0118] A motion sickness state determination device 1000 illustrated in FIG. 28 includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 1002 and a RAM 1003. The CPU 1002 and the RAM 1003 are connected to each other via a bus 1005 and are connected to other components of the motion sickness state determination device 1000 via the bus 1005.

[0119] The CPU 1002 controls and operates the motion sickness state determination device 1000. Any processor may be used as the CPU 1002. The function of the control unit 11 of the motion sickness state determination device 10 described with reference to FIG. 3 may be implemented, for example, by the CPU 1002.

[0120] The RAM 1003 includes, for example, a cache memory and a main memory and may temporarily store a program used by the CPU 1002 or the like.

[0121] The motion sickness state determination device 1000 may include a disk 1004, a communication device 1006, a motion sensor 1007, and a motion sickness state control unit (for example, current application device) 1008. The motion sickness state determination device 1000 includes a drive as needed, and each of these components may be connected to the bus 1005.

[0122] The disk 1004 may store programs for implementing a motion sickness state determination method according to the present technology such as an operating system (for example, WINDOWS (registered trademark)), UNIX (registered trademark), or LINUX (registered trademark), various other programs, and various types of data.

[0123] The communication device 1006 wiredly or wirelessly connects the motion sickness state determination device 1000 to a network 1010. The communication device 1006 can acquire various types of databases (for example, database (in particular, cloud database), data transmitted from biological information acquisition device 20 and surrounding environment information device 30 or the like) via the network 1010. The acquired data may be stored, for example, in the disk 1004. The type of the communication device 1006 may be appropriately selected by those skilled in the art. The disk 1004 may be, for example, a semiconductor recording medium such as a flash memory, and is not limited to this.

[0124] The motion sensor 1007 may acquire the movement information used to acquire the second motion sickness state index.

[0125] The drive can read information recorded in a recording medium and output the read information to the RAM 1003. The recording medium is, for example, a microSD memory card, a SD memory card, or a flash memory. However, the recording medium is not limited to this.

[0126] Preferably, the biological information acquisition device 20 may acquire biological information that appears or fluctuates in a case where the subject will be in the motion sickness state or is in the motion sickness state. The biological information may be, for example, one or a combination of two or more pieces of information selected from a group including the information regarding the enzyme derived from the subject (for example, enzyme amount, enzyme activity, or the like), respiration information (for example, respiration rate, inhalation time, exhalation time, or the like), face color information (for example, degree of pallor of face), saliva amount information, sweating information (for example, cold sweat, sweating amount, sweating or not, or the like), blood pressure information (for example, maximum blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, or the like), and heart rate information (for example, heart rate or the like).

[0127] According to the preferred embodiment of the present technology, the biological information acquired by the biological information acquisition device 20 includes information regarding the enzyme derived from the subject, and more preferably, includes information regarding an activity and/or an amount of the enzyme derived from the subject. More preferably, the enzyme is an amylase. For example, the biological information may be an amylase activity and/or an amylase amount in saliva of the subject.

[0128] The amylase activity and the amylase amount in the saliva are preferable to reduce a size of a device included in the motion sickness state determination system, and are further preferable for accurate motion sickness state determination. For example, to detect pallor of the face, it is necessary to provide a distance between a detection device and the face from which the face can be determined. Therefore, it is difficult to reduce the size of the device that detects the pallor of the face, and in addition, it is difficult to form the device as a wearable device. Furthermore, it is difficult to distinguish a cold sweat from an environmental sweat. Furthermore, to determine that the sweat is a cold sweat by analyzing a sweat component, a large amount of sweats are needed. Therefore, it is difficult to reduce a size of a device that detects the cold sweat, and in addition, it is difficult to form the device as a wearable device. On the other hand, regarding saliva (saliva), medical studies indicate that it is possible to determine pleasant or unpleasant according to activity fluctuation of the amylase in a small amount of saliva (for example, Nakano and Yamaguchi, Japanese journal of biofeedback research Vol. 38, No. 1, 2011). Furthermore, the present inventor or the like have proposed a real-time monitoring method in the oral cavity regarding the amylase activity in the saliva (International publication No. WO 2016/042908 A and International publication No. WO 2018/066227 A). A device used for the real-time monitoring method is compact and can accurately measure the amylase activity.

[0129] The biological information acquisition device 20 may preferably include an enzyme sensor and may more preferably include an amylase sensor. The information regarding the enzyme may be preferably acquired by an enzyme sensor, and more preferably, by a device for measuring an amount and/or an activity of the enzyme. As the enzyme sensor, for example, the enzyme sensor described in International publication No. WO 2018/066227 A mentioned above may be used. The enzyme sensor will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C. FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram of an example of the enzyme sensor. FIG. 4B is a block diagram of an example of the enzyme sensor. FIG. 4C is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the enzyme sensor.

[0130] As illustrated in FIG. 4A, an enzyme sensor (device for measuring amount and/or activity of enzyme) 50 includes a pair of electrodes 51 and 52, an electron transfer layer 53 sandwiched by the pair of electrodes 51 and 52, and an electron generation capsule 54 that includes at least one or more types of enzymes other than the enzyme to be detected with a film that includes at least the substrate of the enzyme to be detected and has contact with the electron transfer layer 53. The electron generation capsule 54 may be held in the electron transfer layer 53 as illustrated in FIG. 4A. Moreover, the enzyme sensor 50 may include a logic unit 57.

[0131] The pair of electrodes 51 and 52 functions as an output unit that extracts electrons generated by a reaction with the enzyme to be detected as a detection signal. Specifically, the pair of electrodes 51 and 52 can extract the electrons generated by the electron generation capsule 54 via the electron transfer layer 53 by applying a voltage between the electrodes.

[0132] The pair of electrodes 51 and 52 may include a material having a conductivity. These electrodes may be provided as a pair of parallel plates sandwiching the electron transfer layer 53 therebetween. Specifically, the pair of electrodes 51 and 52 may include, for example, a metal or an alloy of copper (Cu), silver (Ag), platinum (Pt), aluminum (Al), tungsten (W), titanium (Ti), or the like or may include a carbon material, for example, graphite, amorphous carbon, or the like. More preferably, the pair of electrodes 51 and 52 may include a metal or an alloy that hardly causes corrosion such as rust or a carbon material so as to be suitable for use in an environment where the measurement device 50 has contact with fluid of a living body.

[0133] Regarding the one pair of electrodes 51 and 52, one electrode functions as an anode, and the other electrode functions as a cathode. However, the polarity of the pair of electrodes 51 and 52 may be appropriately set according to a detection signal extraction direction.

[0134] The electron transfer layer 53 has contact with the electron generation capsule 54 and is sandwiched by the pair of electrodes 51 and 52. The electron transfer layer 53 transfers electrons generated by the electron generation capsule 54 to one of the electrodes 51 and 52 (that is, anode). More specifically, the electron transfer layer 53 may include an electron transfer mediator. The electron transfer mediator may be, for example, an electron-acceptable electrolyte, and the electrolyte may transfer the electrons to the anode side that is one of the electrodes 51 and 52. The electron transfer layer 53 may be, for example, formed by gelling a solution including the electrolyte, and that is, the electron transfer layer 53 may be a gelled object of a solution that includes electrolytes.

[0135] The electrolyte included in the electron transfer layer 53 may be a known substance that can reversibly accept or emit electrons. As the electrolyte, for example, a substance including ferricyanide ions may be used, and for example, potassium ferricyanide can be used. The ferricyanide ion ([Fe (CN).sub.6].sup.3-) can reversibly change to a ferrocyanide ion ([Fe (CN).sub.6].sup.4-) through oxidation-reduction reaction. That is, the ferricyanide ion ([Fe (CN).sub.6].sup.3-) changes to the ferrocyanide ion ([Fe (CN).sub.6].sup.4-) to accept the electrons, and returns to the ferricyanide ion ([Fe (CN).sub.6].sup.3-) with either one of the electrodes 51 and 52 so as to emit the electrons. Other electron transfer mediators include, for example, benzoquinone.

[0136] In the electron transfer layer 53, at least one or more recess structures are provided on a surface that is not sandwiched by the pair of electrodes 51 and 52, and the electron generation capsule 54 may be held in the recess structure. By providing the recess structure in the electron transfer layer 53, the electron transfer layer 53 can reliably hold the electron generation capsule 54. Furthermore, with the recess structure, it is possible to increase a contact area between the electron transfer layer 53 and the electron generation capsule 54.

[0137] The plurality of recess structures may be provided in the electron transfer layer 53, and the plurality of electron generation capsules 54 may be held in the recess structure. By increasing the number of recess structures, it is possible to increase the contact area between the electron transfer layer 53 and the electron generation capsule 54. Furthermore, by increasing the number of electron generation capsules 54 in the recess structure, it is possible to increase the number of reaction sites between the enzyme and the electron generation capsule 54. The number of recess structures provided in the electron transfer layer 53 and the number of electron generation capsules 54 provided in the recess structure may be appropriately set.

[0138] The electron generation capsule 54 has a reaction site that generates electrons through an enzyme reaction with the enzyme to be detected and generates electrons according to the amount of the enzymes to be detected. Specifically, the electron generation capsule 54 has a structure in which an outer membrane 55 that includes at least a substrate of the enzyme to be detected contains an inner solution 56 that includes one or more types of enzymes other than the enzyme to be detected.

[0139] The outer membrane 55 includes the substrate of the enzyme to be detected and functions as the reaction site of the enzyme sensor 50 with the enzyme to be detected. Therefore, a shape of the electron generation capsule 54 specified by the outer membrane 55 may be a substantially spherical shape so as to increase an area of a surface that is the reaction site with the enzyme to be detected.

[0140] The outer membrane 55 functions to retain the inner solution 56 in the electron generation capsule 54 so that the inner solution 56 does not leak to the outside of the enzyme sensor 50. Therefore, in order to strengthen the outer membrane 55 as a film, the outer membrane 55 includes a membrane constituent, for example, lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, or the like in addition to the substrate of the enzyme to be detected.

[0141] The enzyme included in the inner solution 56 may include at least an oxidation enzyme. The substrate of the oxidation enzyme is a product generated by enzyme reactions of the substrate included in the outer membrane 55 including at least one or more stages. This makes it possible to extract the electrons from the product by oxidizing the product generated by the reaction of the enzyme to be detected by the oxidation enzyme. Furthermore, the enzymes included in the inner solution 56 may include the enzyme to be detected and the enzyme using the product of the reaction with the substrate contained in the outer membrane 55 as a substrate. At this time, the oxidation enzyme included in the inner solution 56 uses a final product of the reaction, including a plurality of stages, of the enzyme to be detected and the enzyme included in the inner solution 56 as a substrate.

[0142] The inner solution 56 may further include a solvent in which the enzyme is dissolved (for example, water), a functional polymer that stabilizes the enzyme, or the like. For example, the inner solution 56 may further include water dispersions of PMEH (copolymer of 2-Methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine and 2-Ethylhexyl methacrylate) with high biological compatibility.

[0143] Specifically, the reaction between the electron generation capsule 54 and the enzyme to be detected proceeds as follows. First, the enzyme to be detected reacts with the substrate included in the outer membrane 55, and an enzyme reaction product of the substrate is generated. Subsequently, the generated enzyme reaction product is oxidized by the oxidation enzyme included in the inner solution 56 exuded from the inside due to a difference in an osmotic pressure and emits electrons. The emitted electron is accepted by the electrolyte included in the electron transfer layer 53 and extracted by one of the electrodes 51 and 52 as described above.

[0144] For example, in a case where the enzyme to be detected is an amylase, the outer membrane 55 of the electron generation capsule 54 may include at least amylum that is the substrate of the amylase, and the inner solution 56 may include at least maltase and glucose oxidase.

[0145] In such a case, first, the amylase to be detected reacts with the amylum included in the outer membrane 55, and a maltose is generated. Next, the maltose included in the inner solution 56 exuded to the outer membrane 55 due to the difference in the osmotic pressure reacts with the maltase so as to generate glucose. Subsequently, glucose oxidase included in the inner solution 56 reacts with the glucose, and electrons are extracted from the glucose. Furthermore, the electrons extracted from the glucose are accepted by the electron transfer mediators, for example, ferricyanide ions or the like included in the electron transfer layer 53. For example, the ferricyanide ion accepts the electrons to be a ferrocyanide ion.

[0146] Furthermore, the enzyme sensor 50 may further include an ion exchange membrane that covers at least an opening of the recess structure of the electron transfer layer 53. The ion exchange membrane prevents the electron generation capsule 54, the component of the electron generation capsule 54, or the component of the electron transfer layer 53 from being leaked from the enzyme sensor 50 into the fluid.

[0147] In a case where the electron transfer mediator included in the electron transfer layer 53 is an anion (for example, ferricyanide ion), the ion exchange membrane may be a cation ion exchange membrane in order to prevent leakage of the anion included in the electron transfer layer 53. Furthermore, in a case where the electrolyte included in the electron transfer layer 53 is a cation, the ion exchange membrane may be an anion ion exchange membrane.

[0148] The enzyme sensor 50 may further include the logic unit 57. The logic unit 57 includes, for example, a voltage control unit 58, a detection unit 59, an alert unit 60, and an output unit 61.

[0149] The logic unit 57 may be implemented, for example, by cooperation of hardware such as a central processing unit (CPU), a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), or the like and software that controls an operation of each component.

[0150] The voltage control unit 58 controls a voltage applied between the pair of electrodes 51 and 52 of the enzyme sensor 50 to measure the amount of the enzyme to be detected. Specifically, the voltage control unit 58 controls a voltage so that a rectangular pulse voltage is applied between the pair of electrodes 51 and 52.

[0151] The detection unit 59 detects the amount of the enzyme to be detected by measuring a current flowing between the pair of electrodes 51 and 52 of the enzyme sensor 50. Specifically, in a case where the rectangular pulse voltage is applied between the electrodes 51 and 52 by the voltage control unit 58, the electrolyte that has accepted the electrons of the electron transfer layer 53 (for example, ferrocyanide ion) emit the electrons to the anode-side electrode and returns to an electrolyte that does not accept the electrons (for example, ferricyanide ion). At this time, the emitted electrons cause the current to flow between the pair of electrodes 51 and 52.

[0152] Therefore, the detection unit 59 can detect an amount of the electrolyte that has accepted the electrons (for example, ferrocyanide ion) by detecting a magnitude of the current flowing between the pair of electrodes 51 and 52. Moreover, the amount of the electrolyte that has accepted the electrons (for example, ferrocyanide ion) depends on an amount of reaction between the enzyme to be detected and the electron generation capsule 54. Therefore, the detection unit 59 can calculate an amount of the enzyme to be detected from the magnitude of the current flowing between the pair of electrodes 51 and 52.

[0153] The alert unit 60 monitors a consumption of the substrates included in the outer membrane 55 of the electron generation capsule 54 and determines a timing of exchange of the enzyme sensor 50. Because the substrate included in the outer membrane 55 of the electron generation capsule 54 is consumed by the reaction with the enzyme to be detected, the substrate is reduced as the measurement by the enzyme sensor 50 proceeds. Therefore, in order to continue the measurement by the enzyme sensor 50, it is required to exchange the enzyme sensor 50 before all the substrates included in the outer membrane 55 of the electron generation capsule 54 are consumed. Specifically, the alert unit 60 determines the timing of the exchange of the enzyme sensor 50 on the basis of an integrated value of the measured current detected by the detection unit 59. Furthermore, the alert unit 60 may notify the subject to exchange the enzyme sensor 50 by display, voice, or a signal via the output unit 61.

[0154] The output unit 61 outputs information based on a current value detected by the detection unit 59 to the subject or an external device. For example, the output unit 61 may output information regarding an enzyme activity on the basis of the current value detected by the detection unit 59. Specifically, the output unit 61 may measure a current value corresponding to an amount of the enzyme at a normal time as a “reference current value” and perform calculation on the basis of the following formula so as to calculate the “enzyme activity” from the detected “measured current value” and output the calculated “enzyme activity”.

Enzyme activity=(measured current value-reference current value)/reference current value

[0155] The amount of the enzyme to be secreted individually varies for each living body. Therefore, by indicating the enzyme activity with an increase/decrease of a ratio with respect to the amount of the enzyme at the normal time as described above, it is possible to more accurately indicate the degree of the enzyme secretion amount of the living body to be a subject.

[0156] The output unit 61 may output the current value detected by the detection unit 59, not the activity of the enzyme to be detected. In such a case, another device (for example, motion sickness state determination device to be described later) that has acquired the output current value may calculate the activity of the enzyme to be detected.

[0157] For example the output unit 61 may output information to an external display device or a sound output device, for example, via a wired or wireless local area network (LAN), the Bluetooth (registered trademark), the Wi-Fi (registered trademark), or the like.

[0158] The enzyme sensor 50 may be mounted in a mouthpiece 62, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 4C. Furthermore, in addition, various modules such as an acceleration sensor, a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) sensor, a radio frequency (RF) module, a power generation module, and a power storage module may be mounted in the mouthpiece 62. Note that an orifice 63 may be formed in the mouthpiece 62 so that the enzyme sensor 50 can have contact with saliva.

[0159] According to a preferred embodiment of the present technology, the movement information is movement information regarding a movement of a body of the subject, particularly, a movement of the head, the surrounding environment information is video information regarding a video that is visually perceived by the subject, and the second index acquisition unit may acquire a second motion sickness state index on the basis of the movement information and the video information. In this embodiment, preferably, the movement information is first acceleration information based on the movement of the body of the subject, the surrounding environment information is second acceleration information based on the video visually perceived by the subject, and the second index acquisition unit may acquire a second motion sickness state index on the basis of the first acceleration information and the second acceleration information. More preferably, the second index acquisition unit may acquire a difference between the first acceleration information and the second acceleration information as the second motion sickness state index.

[0160] This embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to a system configuration example and a flow of determination processing in (2) to (6) below.

[0161] According to another preferred embodiment of the present technology, the surrounding environment information is odor information regarding an odor perceived by sense of smell by the subject, and the second index acquisition unit may acquire a second motion sickness state index on the basis of the odor information. In this embodiment, the second index acquisition unit may acquire an intensity of a predetermined type of odor as the second motion sickness state index. In this embodiment, this system may further include a motion sickness state control unit that presents an odor to the subject or removes an odor around the subject on the basis of a determination result of the motion sickness state determination unit.

[0162] This embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to a system configuration example and a flow of determination processing in (7) below.

[0163] More preferably, the motion sickness state determination system according to the present technology may further include an output unit that outputs the determination result of the motion sickness state determination unit. The output unit may output the determination result with an information transmission medium, for example, an image, sound, or a printed matter. By outputting the determination result via these media, it is possible to notify the subject of that the subject will be in a motion sickness state or in a motion sickness state.

[0164] (2) First Example of First Embodiment (Example of Determination Based on Amylase Activity and Acceleration)

[0165] A block diagram of a motion sickness state determination system in this example is illustrated in FIG. 5, and a configuration example of a motion sickness state determination system in this example is illustrated in FIG. 6. Furthermore, an example of a flow of motion sickness state determination processing by the system is illustrated in FIG. 7. In this example, a first index acquisition unit acquires an amylase activity in saliva as a first motion sickness state index, and a second index acquisition unit acquires a difference in an acceleration acquired on the basis of movement information regarding a movement of the head of the subject and surrounding video information visually perceived by the subject as a second motion sickness state index.

[0166] In this example, as described above, it is determined whether or not the subject will be in the motion sickness state or is in the motion sickness state according to the saliva amylase activity and the acceleration difference. This makes it possible to more accurately determine the motion sickness state.

[0167] Furthermore, susceptibility to a motion sickness varies for each subject, and the susceptibility to a motion sickness of the same subject may vary depending on the physical condition of the subject. Therefore, by determining a motion sickness state by the motion sickness state determination system according to the present technology in real time, it is possible to more accurately determine and control the motion sickness state.

[0168] (2-1) Description of Configuration of Motion Sickness State Determination System of First Example

[0169] As illustrated in FIG. 5, a motion sickness state determination system 100 according to the present technology includes a biological information acquisition device (amylase detection device) 110 that measures an amylase activity in saliva, a surrounding environment information acquisition device (video acquisition device) 120 that acquires a video visually recognized by a subject who uses the system, and a motion sickness state determination device 130.

[0170] As illustrated in FIG. 6, the biological information acquisition device 110 is attached in an oral cavity of the subject so as to be able to have contact with saliva in the oral cavity of the subject. The surrounding environment information acquisition device 120 is attached near the eyes of the subject so as to acquire a video viewed by the subject. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the surrounding environment information acquisition device 120 may have, for example, a shape of an eyewear. The motion sickness state determination device 130 may be attached to the head of the subject, and preferably, attached near the ears of the subject so as to move in a same manner as the head of the subject. By being attached near the ears, an acceleration sensor 132 in the motion sickness state determination device 130 can detect a movement more closer to a movement sensed by the vestibular organ of the subject.

[0171] The biological information acquisition device 110 includes a calibration unit 111 and an amylase sensor 112. The biological information acquisition device 110 is configured to further include a communication unit (not illustrated) and to be wiredly or wirelessly communicable with the motion sickness state determination device 130 using the communication unit.

[0172] The biological information acquisition device 110 is configured as a partial mouthpiece, and more specifically, is configured as a mouthpiece worn in a back teeth portion. The amylase sensor 112 is disposed on an inner side (surface facing teeth or gum at the time of being worn) of the mouthpiece. An orifice 113 is provided in the mouthpiece, and the orifice 113 enables the amylase sensor 112 to have contact with saliva.

[0173] The calibration unit 111 performs calibration to measure the amylase activity by the amylase sensor 112. For example, immediately after or before start of the determination by the motion sickness state determination system 100, the calibration unit 111 may cause the amylase sensor 112 to execute calibration processing for acquiring an amylase activity to be a reference.

[0174] The amylase sensor 112 is the enzyme sensor described in “(1-2) details of first embodiment” described above. Because the description applies to the amylase sensor 112, the description regarding the amylase sensor 112 is omitted. The amylase sensor 112 may preferably perform monitoring in real time.

[0175] The surrounding environment information acquisition device 120 includes an image sensor 121. The surrounding environment information acquisition device 120 is configured to further include a communication unit (not illustrated) and to be wiredly or wirelessly communicable with the motion sickness state determination device 130 using the communication unit.

[0176] The surrounding environment information acquisition device 120 may be configured as an eyewear. The image sensor 121 is configured so as to acquire a video similar to an external landscape that is visually perceived by the subject who wears the eyewear. The image sensor 121 may be, for example, a CMOS or a CCD or may be an infrared (IR) sensor.

[0177] The motion sickness state determination device 130 includes a control unit 131, an acceleration sensor 132, and a motion sickness state control unit 133. The control unit 131 includes a first index acquisition unit 134, a second index acquisition unit 135, and a motion sickness state determination unit 136.

[0178] Furthermore, the motion sickness state determination device 130 may include a communication unit (not illustrated). The communication unit is configured to be communicable with the biological information acquisition device 110 and the surrounding environment information acquisition device 120 wirelessly or wirelessly, more preferably, wirelessly (for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark)).

[0179] The first index acquisition unit 134 acquires the amylase activity acquired by the amylase sensor 112 as a first motion sickness state index.

[0180] The acceleration sensor 132 may be, for example, a three-axis acceleration sensor. The acceleration sensor 132 detects a movement of a body of the subject, in particular, a movement of the head.

[0181] The second index acquisition unit 135 receives video information acquired by the surrounding environment information acquisition device 120. The second index acquisition unit 135 acquires an acceleration from the video information. The acceleration may be, for example, acceleration in a three-axis direction. The direction of the acquired acceleration may preferably correspond to a direction of the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 132. As a result, a more appropriate acceleration difference can be acquired as the second motion sickness state index.

[0182] The second index acquisition unit 135 acquires an acceleration difference between both accelerations as the second motion sickness state index on the basis of a first acceleration acquired from the video information acquired by the surrounding environment information acquisition device 120 and a second acceleration acquired by the acceleration sensor 132.

[0183] The motion sickness state determination unit 136 determines whether or not the subject will be in the motion sickness state or is in the motion sickness state on the basis of the first motion sickness state index and the second motion sickness state index. For example, the motion sickness state determination unit 136 may have a first threshold and a second threshold respectively to be compared with the first motion sickness state index and the second motion sickness state index in advance. In a case where the first motion sickness state index is equal to or more than the first threshold and the second motion sickness state index is equal to or more than the second threshold, the motion sickness state determination unit 136 may determine that the subject will be in the motion sickness state or is in the motion sickness state. Furthermore, in a case where the first motion sickness state index is not equal to or more than the first threshold, in a case where the second motion sickness state index is not equal to or more than the second threshold, or in a case where the first motion sickness state index and the second motion sickness state index are respectively not equal to or more than the first threshold and not equal to or more than the second threshold, the motion sickness state determination unit 136 may determine that the subject will not be in the motion sickness state or is not in the motion sickness state.

[0184] The motion sickness state control unit 133 is configured to be able to apply a current to the head (particularly, vestibular organ of inner ear) of the subject. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the motion sickness state control unit 133 is disposed neat the right ear, and a motion sickness state control unit (not illustrated) is also disposed near the left ear. The motion sickness state control unit 133 disposed near the right ear includes three electrodes 144, 145, and 146 as illustrated in FIG. 6. These electrodes may be disposed, for example, at three positions including a position near the temple, a position in a neck portion under the back of the ear (or mastoid) (for example, two cm to 10 cm below, particularly, four cm to eight cm below, more particularly, about six cm below), and a position near the mastoid. The motion sickness state control unit disposed near the left ear may be similarly disposed at three positions. The GVS using the electrodes disposed in such a way can give the brain the illusion of the acceleration, and this makes it possible to control the motion sickness state.

[0185] The motion sickness state determination device 130 may be communicably connected to a database 140 wiredly or wirelessly. The database 140 may be, for example, a cloud database. The database 140 may store various types of data to be described in (2-2) below. The database 140 may be updated as needed.

[0186] (2-2) Description of Example of Determination Processing by Motion Sickness State Determination System of First Example

[0187] In step S100 in FIG. 7, the motion sickness state determination system 100 starts the motion sickness state determination processing. In step S100, the motion sickness state determination device 130 activates in response to a start signal of the processing input by the subject, and then, the motion sickness state determination device 130 transmits signals to activate the biological information acquisition device 110 and the surrounding environment information acquisition device 120 respectively to these devices. These devices activate in response to the receipt of the signal.

[0188] In step S101, the biological information acquisition device 110 (particularly, calibration unit 111) may cause the amylase sensor 112 to execute the calibration processing to acquire the amylase activity to be a reference. In the calibration processing, the amylase sensor 112 automatically measures the amylase activity, for example, for several minutes, and a reference value may be set on the basis of the measurement result.

[0189] In step S102, the biological information acquisition device 110 (particularly, amylase sensor 112) acquires amylase activity information. For example, the biological information acquisition device 110 measures an amylase activity S in saliva of the subject as the amylase activity information. The measurement may be preferably performed in real time. The biological information acquisition device 110 transmits the acquired amylase activity information to the motion sickness state determination device 130 through the communication unit.

[0190] In step S103, the motion sickness state determination device 130 receives the amylase activity information from the biological information acquisition device 110. The first index acquisition unit 134 of the motion sickness state determination device 130 calculates, for example, a variability rate dS/dt of the amylase activity S with respect to time from the received amylase activity information. The variability rate may be used by the motion sickness state determination unit 136 as the first motion sickness state index. Note that the amylase activity S itself may be used by the motion sickness state determination unit 136 as the first motion sickness state index. That is, in step S103, the first index acquisition unit 134 may acquire the variability rate or the amylase activity as the first motion sickness state index.

[0191] In step S104, the control unit 131 (for example, motion sickness state determination unit 136) determines whether or not the variability rate or the amylase activity is equal to or more than a threshold. Hereinafter, the threshold used for the determination in step S104 is referred to as a first threshold. The first threshold may be preset or may be updated as needed. The first threshold may be set or updated on the basis of data, for example, stored in the database 140, more specifically, in the cloud database. As the data used for the setting or update, for example, one or more pieces of information selected from among amylase activity information of the subject measured in the past, motion sickness state determination results of the subject in the past, physical information of the subject may be used. Furthermore, as the data, amylase activity information of humans other than the subject, motion sickness state determination results of humans other than the subject in the past, and physical information of humans other than the subject may be used.

[0192] In step S104, in a case where the variability rate or the amylase activity is equal to or more than the first threshold, the control unit 131 proceeds the processing to step S105. In a case where the variability rate or the amylase activity is less than the threshold, the control unit 131 proceeds the processing to step S121.

[0193] An example of the determination in step S104 will be described with reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a graph illustrating an example of a fluctuation of the amylase activity S. As time t elapses, the amylase activity S gradually increases from a reference value So set in step S101. Then, at a time t1, the amylase activity S reaches a first threshold S.sub.1. A region where the amylase activity is equal to or more than S.sub.1 is referred to as a current applicable region, and in a case where the amylase activity is in this region, it is determined that the current can be applied to the subject. Because the amylase activity S is less than the first threshold S.sub.1 before the time t1, in step S104, the motion sickness state determination unit 136 proceeds the processing to step S121.

[0194] From the time t1 to a time t2, the amylase activity S is equal to or more than the first threshold S.sub.1. Therefore, in step S104, the motion sickness state determination unit 136 proceeds the processing to step S105. After the time t1, for example, by applying the current as described below, the amylase activity S decreases. Then, after the time t2, the amylase activity S falls below the first threshold S.sub.1.

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