Mobilise-D insights to estimate real-world walking speed in multiple conditions with a wearable device

This study aimed to validate a wearable device’s walking speed estimation pipeline, considering complexity, speed, and walking bout duration. The goal was to provide recommendations on the use of wearable devices for real-world mobility analysis. Participants with Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Proximal Femoral Fracture, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Congestive Heart Failure, and healthy older adults (n = 97) were monitored in the laboratory and the real-world (2.5 h), using a lower back wearable device. Two walking speed estimation pipelines were validated across 4408/1298 (2.5 h/laboratory) detected walking bouts, compared to 4620/1365 bouts detected by a multi-sensor reference system. In the laboratory, the mean absolute error (MAE) and mean relative error (MRE) for walking speed estimation ranged from 0.06 to 0.12 m/s and − 2.1 to 14.4%, with ICCs (Intraclass correlation coefficients) between good (0.79) and excellent (0.91). Real-world MAE ranged from 0.09 to 0.13, MARE from 1.3 to 22.7%, with ICCs indicating moderate (0.57) to good (0.88) agreement. Lower errors were observed for cohorts without major gait impairments, less complex tasks, and longer walking bouts. The analytical pipelines demonstrated moderate to good accuracy in estimating walking speed. Accuracy depended on confounding factors, emphasizing the need for robust technical validation before clinical application. Trial registration: ISRCTN – 12246987

Mission Zero Corridor Project

The Blueprints team was asked to examine the 16-mile stretch of Interstate 85 in Troup County, Georgia dedicated to Ray C. Anderson in 2014, in honor of his outstanding achievement and the legacy he left for his hometown of West Point, and for the rest of the world. An interstate highway was used to honor a true environmentalist. But, how can a piece of infrastructure, that is inherently unsustainable and a large catalyst for environmental pollution and degradation, truly begin to commemorate Ray's legacy and his pursuit of sustainability? That question serves as the design challenge presented to the faculty and students in the Georgia Tech Scho0ol of Architecture Design and Research Studio by the Georgia Conservancy and the Ray C. Anderson Foundation. Instructor was Richard Dagenhart, Professor Emeritus, Georgia Tech. Studio Managers were Elizabeth Ward, Kevin Bacon, Cassie Branum, Ryan Gravel, David Green, and Jeff Williams from Perkins + Will