Imagine piloting a drone using
the movements of your torso only and leaving your head free to look around,
much like a bird. EPFL research has just shown that using your torso to pilot
flying machines is indeed more immersive than using the long-established
joystick. The results are published in today's issue of PNAS. They wanted to
observe how people use their bodies to pilot a flying object, in this case a
drone, and determine which movements are most intuitive and natural --
approaching the pilot problem from a completely new perspective. They started
by monitoring the body movements of 17 individuals thanks to 19 markers placed
all over the upper body as well as their muscular activity.
Each participant followed the
actions of a virtual drone through simulated landscapes that passed-by as
viewed through virtual reality goggles. Motion patterns emerged and the
scientists quickly established torso-related strategies for piloting drones:
they found that only 4 markers -- located on the torso -- were needed to pilot
flight simulators and real drones through a circuit of obstacles effectively. Overall,
the scientists compared their torso strategies to joystick control in 39
individuals. They found that torso drone control outperformed joystick control
in precision, reliability and with minimal training sessions.
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