Feeling you are actually flying: Torso controls for piloting drones

In tests involving over 50 people tasked with controlling drones, researchers found that drone control using the torso outperformed joystick control in precision and reliability after only minimal training sessions. — dpa

While the joystick has long been the method of choice for controlling flying machines, new research has shown that, if you put your back into it, there may be a better means of control.

Research published on July 16 by Swiss university EPFL suggests that using your torso to pilot flying machines is more effective and immersive than the commonly-used joystick.

In tests involving over 50 people tasked with controlling drones, they found that torso drone control outperformed joystick control in precision and reliability after only minimal training sessions.

"Using your torso really gives you the feeling that you are actually flying," says lead author Jenifer Miehlbradt from EPFL's Translational Neuroengineering Laboratory.

Using motion sensors on the candidate's upper body to control the drone, the researchers found that only four markers were needed on the torso to effectively pilot flight simulators and real drones through a circuit of obstacles.

Miehlbrant says that using the torso to control the drone frees up the limbs and head and requires less concentration, allowing to user to focus on other tasks, such as search and rescue, more easily.

While the system still requires body markers and external motion detectors to work, the researchers aim to make the torso strategy completely wearable for piloting flying objects.

From here, it is hoped that torso control will be used more commonly in piloting flight simulators, drones and even planes in the future. — dpa