Prof. Adamczyk and others published a study using wearable sensors to measure foot movement and predict energy expenditure on a variety of terrains. This study used foot-mounted inertial measurement units, GPS tracking and a wearable metabolic energy consumption measurement system to quantify changes in the swing phase of walking gait, such as lateral foot swing and virtual clearance, and relate these to energy cost of walking. Results observed up to a 27% increase in energy cost for walking depending on terrain!
The full study is available open-access at the link below:
D. B. Kowalsky, J. R. Rebula, L. V. Ojeda, P. G. Adamczyk, and A. D. Kuo, “Human walking in the real world: Interactions between terrain type, gait parameters, and energy expenditure,” PLOS ONE, vol. 16, no. 1, p. e0228682, Jan. 2021, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228682.