Does navigating in a virtual environment while using a haptic wheelchair simulator lead to a more natural propulsion?

The purpose of this study is to quantify the effect of navigating in a virtual environment (VE) during manual wheelchair propulsion on a haptic simulator. Data analysis was performed on handrim reactions forces and moments in order to compare multiple propulsion conditions. Results show that adding a non-immersive feedback brings propulsion behavior further from what is seen in reality. This effect was not observed when adding immersive visual feedback.