Walk This Way: Studying Human Movement
Human gaits are the various ways in which people move their bodies forward using their limbs.Copyright 2002 Denise W. Carlson. Used with permission.
After students have completed the associated activity to collect and graph acceleration data from walking human subjects, they learn more about gait analysis---the study of human motion, which is used as biometric data for human medical diagnostics and (non-human) comparative biomechanics. They learn about the steps that comprise the universal process of engineering analysis—data collection, data analysis, mathematical modeling and reporting—and consider how these steps could be applied to analyze a person's gait, which prepares them to conduct the second associated activity.
Engineers apply scientific principles and processes to learn how systems function; this process is called engineering analysis. For example, mechanical and electrical engineers analyze the electrical usage and losses in systems to determine the amount of electricity available components at any given time. Computer engineers analyze how integrated circuit components interact with each other physically, chemically and electrically to determine the optimal component orientations. Environmental engineers analyze living systems to determine how they function. Biomechanical engineers perform gait analysis—the systematic study of human motion, using visual observations and movement measurements for the purpose of helping people with conditions affecting their ability to walk. Skill in engineering analysis is attained through practice, which is what this lesson and its associated activities provides for students.
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Define gait and gait analysis.
- Describe the engineering analysis process.