Gait Analysis Report

Evidence of Work

In the gait analysis project, we were tasked to design an experiment that observes peoples gaits and see how we can use this to predict specific characteristics such as a person's height, weight, gender and age. G-force was also used in the experiment to determine a specific characteristic of an individual. Some of the most important questions we were trying to solve were: How would you describe the walking gait of each subject? What quantities could be measured to analyze walking gaits? In the context of walking gaits, what do the terms symmetry, variability and dynamicity mean?How could an accelerometer be used to quantify walking gaits? For our experiment we had each person walk 5 steps starting from the same line and with the same starting foot. After they completed these 5 steps, we measured their final distance and divided this number by 5 in order to find their average length per stride. Then we measured their height and used these two pieces of data to find a correlation and pattern regarding them. We also found their average total g-force after walking these 5 steps in order to find a correlation between these two pieces of data as well. We created a table and then graphed the points to make our predictive model. Neither weight nor gender played a role in the final analysis of our data.

The first graph in the “Results: Model” section of our report shows the correlation between all of the heights and average length/stride of our subjects. We put them in order from shortest to tallest, which is how we found the relationship between height and step length, and height and total g-force. Using this data, we made two normal line graphs to better show these correlations (also found in section above). Then with our understanding of this data, we created a formula that can accurately predict the height of someone based on their stride length, and another one that can accurately predict the height of someone based on their average total g-force during those 5 steps.

Evidence of Work (Models)

Content

1. Gait- The stride of a human as she/he moves her/his limbs. Gait was the most important factor in the project because this is the main component we measured for our subjects.

2. Accelerometer- A device that measures the physical acceleration experienced by an object. The specific app we used was called physics tool box.

3. G-force- It is produced by the surface of one object being pushed by the surface of another. In this case, the motion measured between each time one’s foot pushed off the ground and produced a step.

4. Dynamicity- In terms of gait analysis, the quantification of variations in kinematic or kinetic parameters within a step. In our project, dynamic stability was quantified through the use of g-force.

5. Metric- A quantitative indicator of a characteristic or attribute.

6. Symmetry- In terms of gait analysis, the quantification of differences between left-foot and right-foot steps. By having multiple trials, we can confirm that the symmetry of each step was accounted for through the averaging of the data of each step.

7. Variability- In terms of gait analysis, the quantification of fluctuations from one stride to the next.

8. Predictive modeling- It is a commonly used statistical technique to predict future behavior. This type of model was implemented in our report to help visually show that you can use our data findings to predict either a person's height or step distance. We decided to use the model to predict these characteristics for Keeley who we hadn't tested in the actual trials.

Reflection

My collaboration skills were on point during this project. Working with my group-mates was easy and we agreed on everything. I communicated my ideas and listened to their ideas also. I had no trouble working on a specific section of the report with one of my group-mates because our ideas meshed well together. A specific example of me collaborating with Keeley was working on the formatting of the slideshow and both deciding what information was most important to put in.

Organization and planning were two critical rolls that I contributed to the group. Before we started designing the experiment I suggested that we create a list of all the things we are hoping to accomplish in a specific time period. Creating a list helped us keep all of our ideas/plans in an accessible and organized manner.

I can work on my critical thinking skills because I feel like my group-mates mostly came up with solutions to the types of problems we encountered. It takes me a long time to come up with solutions since I immediately think that there is going to be no solution that is doable. To improve this skill I'm going to ask my group-mates the thought process they go through in order to come up with possible solutions. I will also use a notebook to write down any thoughts I have no matter how crazy it is.

I struggled with designing graphs and predictive models based off of massive amounts of data from a spreadsheet. Normally I create graphs with only a small amount of data and the things being measured aren't as complicated. So having to try and create a new model with the group was challenging especially if I wasn't too experienced. From now on i'm going to spend some time broadening my graphing and mathematical skills by watching videos on these topics. Hopefully, I can learn a few helpful tips and tricks to implement for the next time we need to graph something that will find a prediction.