Electrical Muscle Stimulation for Kinesthetic Feedback in AR/VR: A Systematic Literature Review

This paper presents a thorough review of electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) in the context of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), specifically focusing on its application in providing kinesthetic feedback. Our systematic review of 17 studies reveals the growing interest and potential o...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Multimodal technologies and interaction Vol. 8; no. 2; p. 7
Main Authors:	Vrontos, Apostolos, Nitsch, Verena, Brandl, Christopher
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Basel MDPI AG 01-01-2024
Subjects:	Augmented Reality electrical muscle stimulation Feedback haptic feedback Haptics Kinematics kinesthetic feedback Literature reviews Neuromuscular electrical stimulation Parameters Posture Skin Stimulation Virtual reality Germany
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	This paper presents a thorough review of electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) in the context of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), specifically focusing on its application in providing kinesthetic feedback. Our systematic review of 17 studies reveals the growing interest and potential of EMS in this domain, as evidenced by the growing body of literature and citations. The key elements presented in our review encompass a catalog of the applications developed to date, the specifics of the stimulation parameters used, the participant demographics of the studies, and the types of measures used in these research efforts. We discovered that EMS offers a versatile range of applications in AR/VR, from simulating physical interactions like touching virtual walls or objects to replicating the sensation of weight and impact. Notably, EMS has shown effectiveness in areas such as object handling and musical rhythm learning, indicating its broader potential beyond conventional haptic feedback mechanisms. However, our review also highlights major challenges in the research, such as inconsistent reporting of EMS parameters and a lack of diversity in study participants. These issues underscore the need for improved reporting standards and more inclusive research approaches to ensure wider applicability and reproducibility of results.
ISSN:	2414-4088 2414-4088
DOI:	10.3390/mti8020007