A gait is the way a specific person moves and holds themselves as they walk. Posture, stride length, past injuries, and plenty of other factors all effect the way the way you move around, and can even influence the way you come off to others. Our goal during this project was to attempt to quantify a persons locomotion, and eventually come to conclusions about gait that could be modeled mathematically.
To do this properly, we decided to break down all the various components that go into walking. After filling one data table after the next with measurements, we began to realize how complex such a seemingly simple action like walking a few steps truly is. We also enlisted the help of an accelerometer to measure acceleration and g-force of many peer's gaits. The next, and arguably most challenging part, was looking for patterns and consistencies within the mountains of data we collected and creating an equation that could predict gait.
To do this properly, we decided to break down all the various components that go into walking. After filling one data table after the next with measurements, we began to realize how complex such a seemingly simple action like walking a few steps truly is. We also enlisted the help of an accelerometer to measure acceleration and g-force of many peer's gaits. The next, and arguably most challenging part, was looking for patterns and consistencies within the mountains of data we collected and creating an equation that could predict gait.
Presentation
Our presentation above summarizes our work on this project
Reflection
I expected this project to be a challenge because its instructions seemed quite ambiguous, so when it come to designing an experiment and model, we didn't have a lot to go off of. Consequently, this made getting the project kickstarted quite a struggle for the first few days. Another pit we faced, happened because we had another individual project happening simultaneously, so at any given time, one of our group members was gone. This made it hard to reach consensus and make sure everyones ideas were represented in our work.
The positive side of minimal instruction is that my group had plenty of room for creativity. We could decide which aspects of gait we wanted to quantify and there was no correct way to interpret the problem. I enjoyed designing various systems to measure the way we walk. I was surprised by how helpful my sophomore geometry class was when I took accurate degree measurements and plotted swing motions on sets of axes. I was very proud when we finally crunched our equation to the point that it was relatively consistent in its gait predictions.
The positive side of minimal instruction is that my group had plenty of room for creativity. We could decide which aspects of gait we wanted to quantify and there was no correct way to interpret the problem. I enjoyed designing various systems to measure the way we walk. I was surprised by how helpful my sophomore geometry class was when I took accurate degree measurements and plotted swing motions on sets of axes. I was very proud when we finally crunched our equation to the point that it was relatively consistent in its gait predictions.