Recognizing that many virtual reality users can struggle with VR sickness while engaged in VR experiences, a team from Columbia Engineering discovered a way to significantly reduce the degree of VR sickness by manipulating users’ field of view (FOV). Professor Steven K. Feiner and Ajoy Fernandes MS’16 observed scenarios when users’ visual and vestibular cues conflicted and users became nauseated, losing a sens of motion, equilibrium, and spatial orientation. The team found that they could reduce these symptoms by subtly decreasing FOV in scenarios likely to increase VR sickness and restoring FOV when the VR experience was less of a threat. Based on their observations, the team was able to develop dynamic FOV software that partially obscure each eye’s view with a virtual soft-edged cutout. Feiner and Fernandes plan next to investigate additional benefits of using FOV restrictors.