Lab Cycling EDA Dataset: Wearable physiological recordings from controlled cycling experiments

Overview

This dataset contains electrodermal activity (EDA) and related physiological signals from 18 healthy adult volunteers. The data were recorded during a structured experimental protocol designed to simulate momentary stress during physical activity (cycling). The protocol involved a sequence of seated rest, low-intensity warm-up, moderate-intensity cycling, and a final cool-down phase. 

Throughout these phases, participants were exposed to stress-inducing stimuli designed to activate the sympathetic nervous system. Audio stimuli (e.g., air horn, scream, explosion sounds) were delivered through noise-cancelling headphones during both rest and active phases. Physical stressors included an air horn burst, ice pack application, balloon popping, and neuromuscular electrical stimulation of the thigh muscles. All physiological signals were recorded continuously throughout the entire session.

Each participant completed one session lasting approximately 45 minutes, wearing up to four research-grade wearable devices: Empatica E4 (E4), Empatica Embrace Plus (EP), and two Nuanic rings (collectively referred to as Nuanic). Device usage varied across participants. Only the data from devices worn in a given session are included in that participant’s folder. 

Dataset Contents

The dataset is organized as follows:

root/    |── README.md     |── P01/    |    |── E4/    |    |── EP/    |    |── Nuanic/    |    |── meta.csv    |── P02/    |    |── ...

README.md: Brief description of the dataset structure and file contents

PXX/: Folder for participant PXX

E4/: only if Empatica E4 was worn

acc.csv: 3-axis accelerometer data, 32 Hz

bvp.csv: Photoplethysmography signal, 64 Hz

EDA.csv: EDA data, 4 Hz

heart_rate.csv: Heart rate derived from BVP, 1 Hz

IBI.csv: Inter-beat intervals, 0.05 Hz

temperature.csv: Skin temperature in °C, 4 Hz

EP/: only if Empatica EP was worn

acc.csv: 3-axis accelerometer data, 64 Hz

bvp.csv: Photoplethysmography signal, 64 Hz

EDA.csv: EDA data, 4 Hz

steps.csv: Step counts per interval

systolic_peaks.csv: timestamps of systolic peaks

temperature.csv: Skin temperature in °C, 1 Hz

Nuanic/: 

Nua26.csv : EDA data, 3Hz  (only if Nua26 was worn)

Nua44.csv : EDA data, 3Hz  (only if Nua44 was worn)

meta.csv: Participant-specific event log with timestamps, protocol phases, and stressor annotations (audio and physical).

Preprocessing Note

All data files are direct outputs from the respective devices and have undergone standard, device-specific preprocessing using manufacturer-provided tools and pipelines (Empatica and Nuanic SDKs). Timestamps across all data streams were aligned using a simple calibration process performed at the start of each session to enable synchronization across devices. No additional manual corrections, artifact removal, or signal cleaning were applied beyond the built-in device-specific processing.