Improving pedestrian traffic by sound-induced step synchronisation

We develop an operational-level approach to improve pedestrian traffic efficiency and to explain discrepancies among the fundamental diagrams in pedestrian dynamics by experiments and theoretical analysis. Controlled experiments were conducted where participants walked under different acoustic conditions, exploiting the influence of sound on walking behavior. The results demonstrate that (1) regular acoustic stimulation substantially improves pedestrian efficiency: a monotone rhythm slower than the natural pace increases pedestrian flow by up to 36.8%, while periodic tones perform even better; however, flow decreases when pedestrians fail to follow the imposed rhythm. (2) Regular acoustic tones reduce pedestrians’ sensitivity to inter-personal distance and promote step synchronization, thereby suppressing stop-and-go movements and improving the utilization of longitudinal space under high-density conditions. A theoretical framework is developed to link macro-flow with micro-step, and potential engineering applications are discussed. These findings suggest that well designed rhythmic sounds can enhance pedestrian flow in crowd control.