How many times has this happened to you?
下面的情况你遇到过多少次?
You start to fall, but then catch yourself and continue on your way.
你即将摔倒,但又保持住了平衡继续走路。
Well, new research shows that falling and catching yourself actually happens every time we take a step.
一项新的研究发现每次走路的时候,这种即将摔倒自己又保持平衡的事都会发生。
And that we precisely place our feet as we walk to avoid taking a tumble during this ambulatory balancing act.
在走路保持平衡过程中,我们自己会尽量避免摔倒。
The study is in the journal Biology Letters.
这项研究已经在生物学杂志上发表。
When humans walk, we put one foot in front of the other.
人类走路的时候,一只脚在前,一只脚在后。
But the way each foot lands can vary from step to step.
但是每只脚落地的方式都不相同。
This variation in foot placement can appear pretty random.
脚的这种变化呈现随机形式。
But researchers decided to take a closer look.
但是研究者们决定近距离进行观察。
They fitted 10 volunteers with motion caption markers and then watched as the subjects walked on a treadmill.
他们为10名志愿者安装了动作捕捉系统,然后观察他们在走步机上走路的样子。
The investigators discovered that that they could predict exactly where each foot would fall based on the movement of the person's pelvis during the previous step.
研究人员随后发现他们能够根据之前步伐中的骨盆运动,精确地预测每一脚的落点。
The body falls forward and sideways as we walk…and the feet come down in a way that restores our balance.
我们走路时身体会向前倾…而双脚则在同一路径上落下以保持身体平衡。
The findings could be useful for developing ways to help people with movement disorders regain their stability.
这一发现对有运动障碍的人恢复平衡很有帮助。
The info could also make walking robots more surefooted.
这个消息同样会使得走路机器人更加趋于平稳。
So they don't, ya know, fall down on the job.
当然机器人们并未在执行任务途中摔倒过。