3 ms·

Forget joysticks, use your torso to pilot drones

13 points by smb111 8y ago

AstralStorm 8y ago
What silliness is this? The tracking system is bound to make mistakes when absolute precision is required. If you really want kinetic control, use the position and distension sensors like in VR gloves. That could perhaps be as accurate as a joystick. They are partly using that but add irrelevant cameras. The research is also cheating, torso control uses a VR headset while joystick does not, and responds to head turning while joystick system doesn't. The headgear view is well researched to be important as shown half a century ago in fighter jets.
- louismerlin 8y ago
  I think you overestimate the accuracy of joystick control for beginners. This looks promising !
iamdave 8y ago
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. Until you sneeze, and double over to cover your mouth and send your aircraft plummeting to the ground :P (Also, we're still calling all unmanned, but ultimately human controlled aircraft 'drones'? This is never going away, is it?)
- dragonwriter 8y ago
  > Also, we're still calling all unmanned, but ultimately human controlled aircraft 'drones'? This is never going away, is it? No, it was the usage for which the application of the term to vehicles was adopted in the early 20th century, it's been that way for nearly a full century, and it's not changing. What's your problem with it?
  - iamdave 8y ago
    That referring to an aircraft controlled by a human a 'drone' isn't accurate.
mynegation 8y ago
I wish that was available in the 90s when I was still playing video games. Fell off the chair several times playing Descent.
- jandrese 8y ago
  Descent was a game where you could be in any orientation at any time... I'm not sure I'd want to have to stand in my head and face backwards to get into a monster closet... This seems much more suited for something like a drone that needs to be more or less level with the ground most of the time.
jdietrich 8y ago
Note that this research was conducted on people with no prior experience of flying drones. An intuitive interface is not necessarily the best interface for skilled users. Do we really want to reduce the (already very low) barrier to entry to flying a drone?
- iamdave 8y ago
  Not necessarily against lowering the barrier to flying quadcopters for recreational use (commercial use different story-and I say that as someone who took and passed the FAA Part 107 test). I'm chiefly curious how/if this system allows operators to adjust or control things like trim-for example and what that mechanism looks like using one's torso as an input source. Furthermore with a joystick, the resistance of the sticks counts as it's own input mechanism; less about fine-tuned control for its own sake but more about that fine tuned control as an input mechanism of its own. I think that speaks to your statement here: An intuitive interface is not necessarily the best interface for skilled users. Absolutely. That being said, being able to control yaw by turning one's head-similar to how the AAIH works for AH-64 pilots is something I would welcome-or at least play around with. The rest--possibly, but with reservation.

13 points by smb111 8y ago

What silliness is this? The tracking system is bound to make mistakes when absolute precision is required. If you really want kinetic control, use the position and distension sensors like in VR gloves. That could perhaps be as accurate as a joystick. They are partly using that but add irrelevant cameras. The research is also cheating, torso control uses a VR headset while joystick does not, and responds to head turning while joystick system doesn't. The headgear view is well researched to be important as shown half a century ago in fighter jets.

louismerlin 8y ago
I think you overestimate the accuracy of joystick control for beginners. This looks promising !

iamdave 8y ago

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. Until you sneeze, and double over to cover your mouth and send your aircraft plummeting to the ground :P (Also, we're still calling all unmanned, but ultimately human controlled aircraft 'drones'? This is never going away, is it?)

dragonwriter 8y ago
> Also, we're still calling all unmanned, but ultimately human controlled aircraft 'drones'? This is never going away, is it? No, it was the usage for which the application of the term to vehicles was adopted in the early 20th century, it's been that way for nearly a full century, and it's not changing. What's your problem with it?
- iamdave 8y ago
  That referring to an aircraft controlled by a human a 'drone' isn't accurate.

mynegation 8y ago

I wish that was available in the 90s when I was still playing video games. Fell off the chair several times playing Descent.

jandrese 8y ago
Descent was a game where you could be in any orientation at any time... I'm not sure I'd want to have to stand in my head and face backwards to get into a monster closet... This seems much more suited for something like a drone that needs to be more or less level with the ground most of the time.

jdietrich 8y ago

Note that this research was conducted on people with no prior experience of flying drones. An intuitive interface is not necessarily the best interface for skilled users. Do we really want to reduce the (already very low) barrier to entry to flying a drone?

iamdave 8y ago
Not necessarily against lowering the barrier to flying quadcopters for recreational use (commercial use different story-and I say that as someone who took and passed the FAA Part 107 test). I'm chiefly curious how/if this system allows operators to adjust or control things like trim-for example and what that mechanism looks like using one's torso as an input source. Furthermore with a joystick, the resistance of the sticks counts as it's own input mechanism; less about fine-tuned control for its own sake but more about that fine tuned control as an input mechanism of its own. I think that speaks to your statement here: An intuitive interface is not necessarily the best interface for skilled users. Absolutely. That being said, being able to control yaw by turning one's head-similar to how the AAIH works for AH-64 pilots is something I would welcome-or at least play around with. The rest--possibly, but with reservation.