The automotive industry has had a hard time with motion sickness for a long time. It affects millions of travelers around the world. Motion sickness can make even the most exciting trips miserable. It can happen when you’re on a winding road, in the back seat of a car, or when you suddenly speed up in a modern electric vehicle (EV). In 2025, Boston-based startup ClearMotion worked with Chinese automaker NIO to create the world’s first anti-motion sickness car, the NIO ET9. This car has a new active suspension system that promises to change the way passengers feel by almost getting rid of the feelings that make them sick. This article goes into detail about the features, technology, and effects of this groundbreaking car, including how it solves one of the oldest problems with driving.
Understanding Motion Sickness: The Problem
Before we talk about the NIO ET9’s features, we need to know what motion sickness, or kinetosis, is and why it happens. When the body’s visual, vestibular (inner ear), and proprioceptive (body position) systems don’t work together, it can cause motion sickness. When your eyes see a still environment inside a moving car, but your inner ear senses movement, your brain has a hard time making sense of these two conflicting signals. This can cause nausea, dizziness, sweating, and vomiting. This problem is especially bad in some situations:
People in the back seat are more likely to get sick because they can’t see the road ahead, unlike drivers who can see the road ahead by steering and accelerating.
Some people get more motion sickness when they ride in electric vehicles (EVs) because they are quiet, deliver torque quickly, and have strong regenerative braking, which can make the car lurch suddenly.
According to statistics, kids and women are more likely to get motion sickness than men. The peak age for this is 9 to 10.
Reading or using a smartphone in a moving car are two examples of modern distractions that make symptoms worse by making it harder to connect what you see with what you feel.
Antihistamines (like Dramamine), ginger, and acupressure bands are examples of traditional treatments that don’t work very well and can make you sleepy. These solutions also don’t get to the root of the problem, which is the physical sensations of motion that the body has a hard time processing. ClearMotion’s active suspension system is a game-changer that goes after motion sickness at its source.
The NIO ET9: A Showcase of Motion Sickness Prevention Technology
The NIO ET9 is a high-end electric sedan that is the first car to use ClearMotion’s cutting-edge active suspension system, which is said to stop motion sickness. The NIO ET9 has an active suspension that changes in real time to fit the road, unlike regular cars that use passive suspension systems like springs and shock absorbers to smooth out bumps in the road. ClearMotion CEO Christian Steinmann calls this technology a “heavenly hook.” It makes the ride smoother than ever before, keeping passengers from feeling the vibrations and oscillations that can make them sick. Let’s look at the main things that make the NIO ET9 the first car in the world that doesn’t make you sick when you move.
1. The Active Suspension System from ClearMotion
ClearMotion’s active suspension is what makes the NIO ET9 able to stop motion sickness. It replaces regular shock absorbers with fast-acting actuators. A small motor, a hydraulic valve, and a computer work together on each wheel to control its movement with millisecond accuracy. This is how it works:
Proactive Road Sensing: The system uses sensors and smart algorithms to predict problems with the road, like potholes, speed bumps, or bumpy surfaces, before the wheels hit them. ClearMotion’s technology is different from reactive systems because it can predict and stop disturbances before they happen.
Dynamic Wheel Adjustment: When a bump is detected, the actuators move the wheel up or down to absorb the impact. This keeps the car’s body level and stable. This cuts down on the low-frequency oscillations (1–10 Hz) that are most likely to make you sick when you move.
Drivers can change how the suspension works by using modes like “Champagne Mode,” which makes the ride as smooth as possible. During tests, the NIO ET9 drove over speed bumps at 20 km/h with a tower of champagne glasses on its hood, and not a single glass fell over. This shows how stable the system is.
Compared to traditional systems, this active suspension cuts down on cabin vibrations by up to 90%. This makes the ride so smooth that passengers can read, work, or use devices without any problems.
2. Smart Motion Compensation
The NIO ET9’s suspension isn’t just there to soak up bumps; it’s also there to stop the movements that cause kinetosis.
For instance:
Control of Lateral Acceleration: The system keeps the body from rolling too much when turning, so passengers don’t feel the swaying that can make them sick.
Lessening Pitch and Dive: The actuators keep the car from pitching forward or diving while it speeds up or slows down, keeping it level. This is especially important in electric vehicles (EVs), where regenerative braking can cause sudden stops.
Eliminating Low-Frequency Motion: The system focuses on low-frequency vibrations, which are the main cause of motion sickness. The NIO ET9 makes passengers feel like they’re not moving by keeping the cabin separate from these movements.
This smart compensation makes the car’s movement match what the brain expects, which reduces sensory conflict and makes long trips more comfortable, especially for people in the back seat.
3. Better features for comfort in the cabin
The NIO ET9 has more than just a suspension system to help with motion sickness and make passengers feel better:
Ventilation Optimization: Getting fresh air is a well-known way to stop nausea. The ET9’s climate control system makes sure that the airflow is always the same. The vents can be moved to direct cool air toward the passengers’ faces.
Lighting in the room: Lighting that is soft and calming can help with motion sickness by reducing visual strain, which can make it worse when you move.
Ergonomic Seating: The seats are made to help you sit up straight and keep your head from moving too much, which helps keep your body stable. Some setups let passengers recline or lie flat, which can help some people feel less sick.
Noise Reduction: The ET9’s quiet electric powertrain gets rid of engine noise, and the active suspension makes road noise even quieter. This helps with the sound cues that can make motion sickness worse in silent EVs.
These features work together with the suspension to make an environment that completely stops motion sickness.
4. Smart integration of infotainment
The NIO ET9’s infotainment system is made to keep people from getting sick by keeping them from getting too distracted. Big screens, which are common in modern electric vehicles, can make passengers lose their sense of direction by taking their attention away from the road. The ET9 responds with:
Display Angles That Can Be Changed: Screens tilt to line up with the passenger’s line of sight, which makes it easier to see the content while the car is moving.
Motion-Synced Visual Cues: The ET9’s displays can overlay subtle animations that mimic the car’s movement. This helps the brain make sense of visual and vestibular inputs. This feature was inspired by Apple’s Vehicle Motion Cues.
Minimalist Interface: The system puts a lot of emphasis on keeping things simple so that passengers don’t get sick when they have to deal with complicated menus.
With these new features, passengers can use their devices or watch media with a lower risk of getting motion sickness. This is a big improvement over older vehicles.
The Science That Makes It Work
ClearMotion’s technology is based on decades of research into how motion sickness works and how vehicles move. Jaguar Land Rover and other companies have done studies that show that cutting down on low-frequency motion can cut down on motion sickness by as much as 60%. ClearMotion goes even further by using advanced machine learning and real-time data from thousands of test miles to make the ride as smooth as possible. The system can “learn” from the state of the road and what passengers say, so it keeps getting better and better, making every trip smoother than the last.
Also, the NIO ET9 solves the problems that electric vehicles (EVs) have because they don’t have the sounds and feel of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. When an electric vehicle speeds up or slows down suddenly, its passengers often feel disoriented because there is no engine noise or gear shifts. The ET9’s active suspension makes up for these problems, and its smart features bring back some of the cues that drivers and passengers use to stay comfortable.
What this means for the future
The NIO ET9’s technology that stops motion sickness has big effects on the car industry and beyond:
Self-Driving Cars: As self-driving cars become more common, people will spend more time reading, working, or using devices, which can make motion sickness worse. ClearMotion’s system is likely to make self-driving cars more comfortable, which is a major obstacle to their widespread use.
Accessibility: The ET9 gives people who are more likely to get motion sickness, like those who have migraines or problems with their inner ear, a new level of freedom and mobility.
Luxury Travel: The ET9 redefines luxury by putting passenger comfort ahead of raw performance. This makes it appealing to families, business travelers, and anyone who wants to travel without stress.
Sustainability: The ET9 is an electric vehicle (EV) that fits in with global efforts to cut down on emissions. It shows that eco-friendly cars can also be comfortable.
But there are still problems to solve. The active suspension system is expensive, so only high-end models like the ET9 can have it. ClearMotion wants to make the technology work for a lot of cars, but it could take years for it to be widely used. Also, the system may not completely get rid of motion sickness for all passengers, since some people are more sensitive than others.
Testing and reception in the real world
People have said good things about the NIO ET9 after its first tests. William Hunter, a MailOnline reporter who gets sick when he moves, said that the ride was “the smoothest I’ve ever experienced.” He was able to read in the back seat without feeling sick, which is usually what makes him sick. The champagne tower test, which is done at 20 km/h over speed bumps, has become a famous way to show how stable the car is, and people in the industry and consumers alike love it.
But critics say that the system only works well when the roads are in good shape. When the terrain is really rough, the actuators may reach their limits, which means that the ride quality will have to be lowered. Marco Giovanardi, a technical fellow at ClearMotion, agrees with this and stresses the need for predictive algorithms to tell the difference between small bumps and bigger ones.
In conclusion: A New Age of Comfort When Traveling
The NIO ET9, which has ClearMotion’s active suspension, is a turning point in the history of cars. The world’s first anti-motion sickness car shows us a future where travel is not only good for the environment but also comfortable for everyone. It does this by dealing with motion sickness, which affects up to 70% of passengers at some point. Its cutting-edge features, like motion-synced displays and dynamic wheel actuators, set a new standard for passenger comfort, forcing car companies to put comfort on the same level as performance and efficiency.
The dream of traveling without feeling sick is getting closer and closer as ClearMotion improves its technology and NIO adds more cars to its lineup. The NIO ET9 is more than just a car for people who hate long car rides or get sick when they move. It’s a promise of freedom, comfort, and the joy of the journey. This car invites you to experience the road like never before: smooth, calm, and free of sickness. Whether you’re a parent calming a carsick child, a professional working on the go, or just someone who loves to travel, this car is for you.
