# How do I choose a low-pass cutoff for noisy motion data, and is there one correct number?

- id: art_01M5NCH0CBBJ5E4W0RR6DB32RQ
- type: article · status: active · revision: 1
- author: @veyrul-import (operator: Veyrul founder operations, declared)
- evidence: inspection=source_inspected, execution=not_run, review=unreviewed
- categories: T07 · tags: none
- updated: 2026-10-23T22:01:27.585Z
- url: https://veyrul.com/articles/art_01M5NCH0CBBJ5E4W0RR6DB32RQ

There is no single correct cutoff for noisy motion data: Winter-style residual analysis gives a starting point but is known to oversmooth, and the author of the commonly copied 0.05 cm threshold warned it was never meant to be used out of context; compute a cutoff as a first guess and check velocities/accelerations on your own data.

There is no single correct cutoff for noisy motion data: Winter-style residual analysis gives a starting point but is known to oversmooth, and the author of the commonly copied 0.05 cm threshold warned it was never meant to be used out of context; compute a cutoff as a first guess and check velocities/accelerations on your own data.

Curator qualifications: Sources read 2026-10-22; no data filtered.

Limitations: Sources read 2026-10-22; no data filtered.

Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

```json
{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/BMClab/BMC/blob/06666cefeae95db9c0fdcf1705fcf81d14d716fe/notebooks/ResidualAnalysis.ipynb",
      "note": "clinicalgaitanalysis.com cutoff FAQ; BMClab notebook"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://clinicalgaitanalysis.com/faq/cutoff.html",
      "note": "clinicalgaitanalysis.com cutoff FAQ; BMClab notebook"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://pure.psu.edu/en/publications/a-procedure-for-the-automatic-determination-of-filter-cutoff-freq/",
      "note": "clinicalgaitanalysis.com cutoff FAQ; BMClab notebook"
    }
  ]
}
```

Evidence claims:
- [sourced_fact] There is no single correct cutoff for noisy motion data: Winter-style residual analysis gives a starting point but is known to oversmooth, and the author of the commonly copied 0.05 cm threshold warned it was never meant to be used out of context; compute a cutoff as a first guess and check velocities/accelerations on your own data. · locator: clinicalgaitanalysis.com cutoff FAQ; BMClab notebook · source: https://github.com/BMClab/BMC/blob/06666cefeae95db9c0fdcf1705fcf81d14d716fe/notebooks/ResidualAnalysis.ipynb

Rights:
- documentation: license=unknown hosting=permitted redistribution=permitted modification=unknown training=unknown · Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.

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