Biometric sensor and smartwatch response data collected during VR user studies for Worker Safety III

Two related datasets are included documenting users' sensor data and responses to alarms on a smartwatch during virtrual reality (VR) worker safety experiments on an integrated traffic simulation and VR platform.

• watchData.csv records the times at which the user received an alarm on an Apple Watch and times when they tapped the watch screen to acknowledge the alarm.
• HRData.csv records blood volume pulse (BVP), inter-beat interval (IBI), and heart rate (HR) data for each user Data was recorded using an Empatica E4 PPG (photoplethysmography) wristband.

Both csv files shared the same column headers with the following descriptions:

• UserID - Each user has a unique 4 digit ID randomly assigned to them at their first VR experiment.
• Scenario - Indicates which work zone safety Scenario the user experienced.
  • Scenario 1: Placing cones in a mobile work zone
  • Scenario 2: Sensor installation on highway
  • Scenario 3: Surveying in urban intersections
• Trial - Indicates how many times they have experienced the same VR scenario (i.e. Scenario 3, Trial 2 means the user is experiencing Scenario 3 for the second time)
• VibrationOnly - Indicates the modality of alarms the user received during the trial.
  • VibrationOnly = 1 indicates that the alarms were haptic/vibrations only.
  • VibrationOnly = 0 indicates that the alarms were haptic/vibrations AND sounds.
• Timestamp - Local timestamp of the data recording
• Time Elapsed - Time that has passed since the start of the trial
• From - Indicates the source of the data
  • From = PPG - indicates the data is from the heart rate sensor
  • From = Watch - indicates the data is from the Apple smartwatch, generally applies to when the user has responded on the watch/acknowledged the watch alarm
  • From = VR - indicates the data is from the traffic simulation, generally applies to when speeding/collision cars trigger an alarm on the Apple smartwatch
  • From = Ultrasonic - indicates the data is from an ultrasonic sensor detecting when the user was on the edge of the work zone perimeter.
• Event - indicates the event being recorded
  • BVP/IBI/HR - indicates the meaning of the three numbers in the Values column (see Values below)
  • Start Simulation - indicates when the trial began
  • Received car approaching alert, mode=x, id=xxx
    • Mode indicates the type of alarm duration, frequency, and number of repetitions.
    • ID indicates the cause of the alarm
• Type - indicates additional categorizations of events
  • Speeding/Collision - indicates the alarm was caused by a speeding or collision car
  • Perimeter - indicates the alarm was triggered when the user was on the edge of the work zone perimeter.
  • Response - indicates the user responded/acknowledged the alarm on the smartwatch by tapping the watch screen.
  • BVP/IBI/HR - indicates the meaning of the three numbers in the Values column (see Values below)
• Values
  • For Type=Response, Values indicates the alarm id the user responded to. Response time has to be calculated by subtracting the Time Elapsed of the Response row with the corresponding Time Elapsed of the alarm id row
  • For Type="Received...", Values indicates the alarm mode and id
  • For Type=BVP/IBI/HR, three values are listed indicating respectively blood volume pulse (BVP), inter-beat interval (IBI), and heart rate (HR) data

Data requests and inquiries can be made by contacting Dr. Semiha Ergan at semiha@nyu.edu