This paper ponders the effects of introducing an assistive force visual display on a subject's force perception. Correct and incorrect displays were tested and were found to significantly affect the subject's force perception as compared to no visual feedback case. The elbow joint was considered for this study and assisted with four wearable artificial muscles called pneumatic gel muscles (PGMs). It was observed that subjects tend to underestimate the assistive force. The introduction of a visual display could significantly reduce this force underestimation. Moreover, the level of force underestimation was higher in case of higher force values. In other words, the higher the actual force provided, the higher the level of force underestimation in all three conditions: correct, incorrect and no visual feedback. It was also observed that the perceived error (perceived force - actual force) was directly in proportion with the visual error (visual force - actual force).

The increasing use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) systems has opened the possibility of providing immersive experiences to the general population around the world. However, most of the existing systems do not provide highly effective force-feedback experiences to the user. To provide such augmented systems in combination with force-feedback, novel ideas must be introduced that can be easily integrated with the existing VR and AR technologies. This work proposes a first-person VR game integrated with a soft exoskeleton that enhances the quality of interaction between the subject and the virtual environment (VE) through an additional force-feedback element. The effect of introducing the force-feedback element on the user is analyzed by using biosensors and questionnaire feedback. The biosensors are used to measure the level of anxiety induced in the subject during interaction with the virtual environment. Conditions in which this interaction occurs with and without force-feedback are compared. The questionnaire analyzes the perceived change in emotions of users as a result of the introduction of the force-feedback element. This game can be played by most individuals, regardless of age and physical fitness.