{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]],"date-time":"2026-04-13T15:14:43Z","timestamp":1776093283929,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"14","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,7,6]],"date-time":"2022-07-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1657065600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Haptic feedback is the sensory modality to enhance the so-called \u201cimmersion\u201d, meant as the extent to which senses are engaged by the mediated environment during virtual reality applications. However, it can be challenging to meet this requirement using conventional robotic design approaches that rely on rigid mechanical systems with limited workspace and bandwidth. An alternative solution can be seen in the adoption of lightweight wearable systems equipped with Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES): in fact, NMES offers a wide range of different forces and qualities of haptic feedback. In this study, we present an experimental setup able to enrich the virtual reality experience by employing NMES to create in the antagonists\u2019 muscles the haptic sensation of being loaded. We developed a subject-specific biomechanical model that estimated elbow torque during object lifting to deliver suitable electrical muscle stimulations. We experimentally tested our system by exploring the differences between the implemented NMES-based haptic feedback (NMES condition), a physical lifted object (Physical condition), and a condition without haptic feedback (Visual condition) in terms of kinematic response, metabolic effort, and participants\u2019 perception of fatigue. Our results showed that both in terms of metabolic consumption and user fatigue perception, the condition with electrical stimulation and the condition with the real weight differed significantly from the condition without any load: the implemented feedback was able to faithfully reproduce interactions with objects, suggesting its possible application in different areas such as gaming, work risk assessment simulation, and education.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s22145069","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,7,6]],"date-time":"2022-07-06T21:15:52Z","timestamp":1657142152000},"page":"5069","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":22,"title":["Rendering Immersive Haptic Force Feedback via Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"22","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6476-5112","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elisa","family":"Galofaro","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Assistive Robotics and Interactive Exosuits (ARIES) Laboratory, Institute of Computer Engineering (ZITI), Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1761-6982","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Erika","family":"D\u2019Antonio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Assistive Robotics and Interactive Exosuits (ARIES) Laboratory, Institute of Computer Engineering (ZITI), Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8125-4712","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nicola","family":"Lotti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Assistive Robotics and Interactive Exosuits (ARIES) Laboratory, Institute of Computer Engineering (ZITI), Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2402-7139","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lorenzo","family":"Masia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Assistive Robotics and Interactive Exosuits (ARIES) Laboratory, Institute of Computer Engineering (ZITI), Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,7,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hannaford, B., and Okamura, A.M. 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