Abstract Summary
Uneven terrain causes fluctuations in walking speed. Some fluctuations follow the physical height change of each step, but humans might also actively adjust their speed in anticipation of upcoming terrain [1]. Simultaneity makes these two effects difficult to separate, but speed fluctuations over a complex ground profile could potentially be deconstructed into a fluctuation waveform for a single (1-) perturbation alone. The 1-perturbation waveform should then be able to predict speed fluctuations for other ground profiles. We tested this by measuring humans (N = 5) walking over a complex terrain profile, and deconstructing the 1-perturbation waveform. This waveform exhibited anticipatory adjustments several steps in advance. It also predicted the speed fluctuations for an independent and different ground profile (R = 0.75). Humans make systematic and anticipatory speed adjustments for each upcoming perturbation, even when they occur in succession.
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