Control of drones with your hands

With simple hand movements

Engineers at the University of Tokyo, the possibility of extending your hand, bending your fingers and watching a drone respond, turn in the air, avoid obstacles and even turn a valve, all synchronized with the movement of your fingers, has just become a reality.

At the heart of this innovation is a teleoperation system that uses 6 degrees of freedom to transform human movement into robotic precision. Sensors on the shoulder and a special glove capture every movement of your hand and fingers.

This is how a simple turn of the wrist can guide the drone, while specific finger gestures change the mode of operation in the middle of a duel. Instead of relying on button commands, the pilot uses his or her own body as an interface, activating modes such as spherical, cartesian, operation and lock, each tailored to different challenges.

The experience is amplified with direct visual feedback in the line of sight, texts and colors tell the operator exactly what the drone is doing, this intelligent structure is not only intuitive, but also safe. The system interprets each finger flex and blocks accidental movements, reducing human errors.

Its application is ideal in dangerous places

Lock mode, for example, fixes the drone in space while the operator adjusts its position without losing alignment. This was tested in real scenarios. The drone navigated narrow hallways, dodged obstacles, and turned industrial valves, all with fluid trajectory tracking and a response latency of just 0.3 to 0.5 seconds, fast enough for complex tasks in dynamic environments.

This Japanese glove can open the way to applications in hazardous locations such as industrial inspection areas, maintenance at heights, delicate cleaning or disaster zone rescue. Imagine emergency crews using drones like this to manipulate gas valves in unstable buildings or access places humans can't physically reach. And that's not all.

The system is already ready to evolve with plans to add haptic feedback and integrated sensors that would make the operator virtually able to “feel” the environment the drone explores.