Bárány chair

The Barany chair or Bárány chair, named for the Hungarian physiologist Robert Bárány, is a device used for aerospace physiology training, particularly for student pilots. The Barany chair or Bárány chair, named for the Hungarian physiologist Robert Bárány, is a device used for aerospace physiology training, particularly for student pilots. The subject is placed in the chair, blindfolded, then spun about the vertical axis while keeping his head upright or tilted forward or to the side. The subject is then asked to perform tasks such as determine his direction of rotation while blindfolded, or rapidly change the orientation of his head, or attempt to point at a stationary object without blindfold after the chair is stopped. The chair is used to demonstrate spatial disorientation effects, proving that the vestibular system is not to be trusted in flight. Pilots are taught that they should instead rely on their flight instruments. The device is also used in motion sickness therapy. Bárány used this device in his research into the role of the inner ear in the sense of balance, for which he won the 1914 Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine.