These Liquid-Filled Eyeglasses Allegedly Make Wearers Immune to Motion Sickness

French car maker Citroën recently unveiled a pair of glassless, liquid-filled eye-glasses that can reportedly treat the symptoms of motion sickness.

Called Seetroën, the ingenious eyeglasses use Boarding Ring technology, which was created by a French start-up of the same name, to treat motion sickness in just a few minutes. According to the official press release, after being worn for 10 to 12 minutes, “the glasses enable the mind to resynchronise with the movement perceived by the inner ear while the eyes were focused on an immobile object such as a smartphone or a book,” and the wearer can just take them off and enjoy the rest of the journey.

Photo: Citroën

So how do Seetroën cure the annoying condition that has been plaguing mankind for centuries? Well, the secret is literally in those goofy plastic frames. That blue liquid  in the rings around the eyes, both along the frontal axis and sagittal axis recreate the horizon line to resolve the conflict between the signals sent to the brain by  the eyes and inner ear.

Motion sickness occurs when our brain perceives conflicting reports about perceived motion from the eyes and the inner ear. It’s usually not a problem when a person is looking out the window because then both organs perceive motion similarly, but when you’re looking down at a phone or a book, the eyes don’t perceive the motion the same way, and the reports sent to your brain contradict those from the inner ear, and the confusion results in motion sickness.

Photo: Citroën

The liquid in the Seetroën rings simulate the angle and movements of the horizon so that the movement detected by the eyes matches that detected by the inner ear; no more conflicting signals, no more motion sickness, apparently.

Since Seetroën glasses are actually glassless, they can be worn by anyone, even over actual eyeglasses. You only need to wear them for 10 to 12 minutes after the symptoms of motion sickness set in, to make them go away.


Even though Citroën claims to have collaborated with 5.5, a French collective design studio in order to come up with a “fresh, simple and ergonomic style” for Seetroën, these are definitely not the best looking glasses money can buy. But hey, if they really work as advertised – Citroën claims that Boarding Ring technology has an efficacy of 95% – there’s really no room for complaining.

One thing that may keep people from using Seetroën eyeglasses is the price. They cost €99 ($115) and can be purchased from Citroën’s online store.