Your body is the most sophisticated off-road vehicle in existence – and the ways it responds to the terrain when you’re walking are fascinating. Scientists in the US tracked eye movement and ‘full body kinematics’ and discovered our eyes constantly roam two steps and 1.5 seconds ahead – mentally ‘banking’ secure footholds to ensure walking can proceed at its most efficient pace. As the terrain becomes more difficult our gaze drops proportionately, but always maintaining the 1.5-second, two-pace confidence buffer which allows us to move with fluent grace not like stilted robots. Indeed it’s the speed with which information can be processed in complex terrain, not any difficulty of our bodies have in dealing with it, which causes our pace to drop at all. You’re a sensorimotor supercomputer – enjoy that amazingly capable body of yours!
The researchers used sophisticated sensors to monitor walkers steps and focal area in real time,
