Rhythmic walking interaction with auditory feedback: Ecological approaches in a tempo following experiment

We present an interactive auditory display for walking with sinusoidal tones or ecological, physically-based synthetic walking sounds. The feedback is either step-based or rhythmic, with constant or adaptive tempo. In a tempo-following experiment, we investigate different interaction modes and auditory feedback, based on the MSE between the target and performed tempo, and the stability of the latter. The results indicate that the MSE with ecological sounds is comparable to that with the sinusoidal tones, yet ecological sounds are considered more natural. Adaptive conditions result in stable tempi. These results have implications on the design of interactive entertainment or therapeutical applications.