Google’s anti

People who suffer from the scourge of motion sickness now have a new arrow in their quiver to help them stop, well, quivering. Some users of Android devices are now able to activate so-called Motion Dots, a feature designed to appear on the screen and help reduce the feeling of queasiness whilst on the move.

Motion sickness can be oversimplified as a funny feeling which occurs when there’s an imbalance between what one’s eyes are seeing and the motion one’s body is feeling. In other words, if you’re looking at a phone or book (which doesn’t move relative to your position) in a car as it winds its way along a curvy road, the lack of motion on the phone or book doesn’t align with the feeling of going around a corner. Hello, motion sickness.

These new Motion Dots are designed to quell that feeling. When turned on, a vertical row of four dots will appear on the left and right edges of a device’s screen. So long as a person stays still, so do the dots. But, using accelerometers and the like inside the device, the dots will move about during turns and acceleration/deceleration whilst travelling. If yer buddy hits the brakes, a cascade of dots will rush to the top of the phone, for example, attempting to introduce a bit of visual motion to help align what one’s brain is seeing and one’s body is feeling.

And it works, at least for this jaundiced author. In a rare example of Apple being ahead of the curve compared to Android features (I am an Apple user but not a fanboi and very cognizant of the brand’s limits), similar motion dots can be activated after being unearthed deep within an accessibility menu. After activating the feature, your author can now — as a passenger, of course — catch up on emails or enjoy a meme without tossing his cookies.

It is slightly amusing when the feature accidentally activates on an airplane or high speed train, causing the dots to lose their digital minds and perform the watusi on my screen. If you have an Android (or Apple) device with this feature, we recommend giving it a go.

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2021 Castrol-Wakefield Automotive Writing Award, runner-up

Runner Up - 2023 AJAC Adventure and Travel Journalism Award presented by Genesis Canada

Winner - 2023 AJAC Road Safety Journalism Award presented by Volvo Canada

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/matthewkguy