Mechanical and fluid system and method for the prevention and control of motion sickness, motion- induced vision sickness, and other variants of spatial disorientation and vertigo

A non-electronic head-worn system for providing visual inertial head orientation information to a person, the system comprising:

• a unit attached to the head of the person;
• an optical element selected from the group of a lens, a mirror, beamsplitter, and a prism wherein the optical element is placed in a location visible to the person;
• an orientation reference symbol visible to the person when viewing the optical element, wherein:
• the symbol is fixedly coupled to movement of the unit whereby the symbol stays in a fixed visual position for the person when the person's head moves;
• and
• the symbol comprises a reference element selected from the group of a pitch reference element and a roll element;
• an indicator selected from the group of a pitch indicator and a roll indicator, wherein:
• the indicator is visible to the person when viewing the optical element;
• the indicator moves in response to inertial rotation of the unit about an orientation selected from group of the person's interaural axis and the person's naso-occipital axis;
• the indicator is responsive to an inertial device selected from the group of a pendulum attached to the unit, a rolling element retained in the unit, and a fluid in a reservoir in the unit;
• movement of the indicator does not comprise a response from an electro-mechanical sensor from the group of an accelerometer, a gyroscope, an acoustic detector, a magnetic detector, and an optical detector;
• movement of the indicator does not require the use of electricity;
• and
• movement of the indicator occurs in the normal field of view of the person;
• whereby:
• the person can use the optical element to view the location and movement of the indicator relative to an orientation selected from the group of pitch and roll to determine orientation of the person's head and thereby minimize a physiological effect selected from the group of vertigo, motion sickness, motion intolerance, and spatial disorientation resulting from sensory mismatch between a person's visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive organs.