Cross-modal Analysis of Spatial-Temporal Auditory Stimuli and Human Micromotion when Standing Still in Indoor Environments

This paper examines how a soundscape influences human stillness. We are particularly interested in how spatial and temporal features of a soundscape influence human micromotion and swaying patterns. The analysis is based on 345 Ambisonics audio recordings of different indoor environments and corresponding accelerometer data captured at the chest of a person standing still for ten minutes. We calculated the temporal and spatial correlation between the person's quantity of motion and the sound energy of the Ambisonic recordings. While no clear temporal correlations were found, we discovered a correlation between the spatial directionality of the micromotion and the sound direction of arrival. The results suggest a potential entrainment between the directionality of environmental sounds and human swaying patterns, which have not been thoroughly studied previously compared to the temporal or spectral features of indoor soundscapes.