Dataset of GSR and Related Physiological Signals Recorded With a Smart Assistive Walking Cane for Startle Analysis

This dataset accompanies the following publication, which is currently under review: Villalba-Bravo, Trujillo-León, A., & Vidal-Verdú, F.A Smart Walking Cane for Motion-Robust Electrodermal Startle MonitoringIEEE Sensors Letter(Under review) Description This dataset contains physiological signals collected from 22 participants using a wireless smart walking cane equipped with a custom Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) sensor. The participants walked through common areas of the university while being exposed to sudden and loud auditory stimuli designed to induce startle responses. The aim of the study was to identify statistical and temporal features of the GSR signals that are robust to motion artifacts (MAs) and feasible for real-time detection of startle events in vulnerable populations who rely on mobility aids. The Empatica EmbracePlus device was used as a motion artifacts free reference system, which recorded the same physiological signals and features, for comparison purposes. Preprocessing included filtering, downsampling, and extraction of windows corresponding to startle and non-startle events. The structure of the dataset is discussed later. All participants provided written informed consent both to take part in the experiment and to allow their anonymized data to be publicly shared for research purposes. Furthermore, the experiment was approved by the Ethical Committee of the Universidad de Málaga (reference 46-2024-H). Folder Structure recorded_signals: Contains the signals recorded during the experiment from both the smart cane and the reference Empatica device. The signals have been preprocessed as described in Section III, Materials and Methods. The low-pass cutoff frquency for GSR and phasic signal in this folder is set to 1 Hz. allFeatures.csv: Contains the feature data from all participants. Metadata columns include: subject_id, sex, age, group and recording device (i.e. 'cane' or 'empatica'). LMM_Statistical_Results.csv: Contains the results of the Linear Mixed Effects Model (LMM) analyses performed for each extracted feature and recording device. Each row corresponds to an independent LMM fitted for a specific feature and acquisition device. startle_audio_experiment.mp3: Audio track used during the experiment to elicit startle responses to the participants. Contact Information For any questions or further information regarding this dataset, please contact [e-mail] and [e-mail].