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Re:Inside the quietest place on Earth by corysama on Thursday June 01, 2017 @06:01AM (#14459063)
"A small number of people feel dizzy."

Reports of this from other similar chambers convinced me of the importance of audio in VR. I've noticed first-hand how it's possible to hear how close to a wall you are when walking down a large hallway. Apparently, we all hear walls, floors and ceilings all the time and it plays into our balance. Other chambers have reported people losing balance and falling over as a side effect of being in a room with no echoes.

Re:Inside the quietest place on Earth by lb1lf on Thursday June 01, 2017 @06:43AM (#14459231)
Aye. While in university, I spent lots of time in the antenna lab (which doubled as an anechoic chamber.).

Even hours and hours of exposure couldn't help me get my bearings; I became dizzy within seconds and, on some occasions, even felt like I was about to barf.

Luckily I didn't fall over - 'our' chamber didn't have a wire floor like the Microsoft one - just a narrow walkway into the center of the room where there was a pod for installing whatever gear you were about to test.

Falling onto those tiles would probably cost someone a fortune. (I've got no idea what anechoic tiles cost, but I know they are rather brittle. Don't ask me how I know.)

Re:Inside the quietest place on Earth by Moru on Thursday June 01, 2017 @09:11AM (#14459922)
I was working at the local uni for a while. There was a long, narrow corridor that had a large pinboard made of something very sound-absorbing material that was popular for a while. The other side was brick with doors here and there. Every time I walked past the pinboard, I felt like I was leaning towards it. Seems we have some similar skills like bats, we just don't realize we use it all the time until something changes.