Using The Apple Watch to Fly a Drone

A team of researchers in Taiwan have turned the Apple Watch into a sensor that can control a done using hand gestures, reports Reuters.

PVD+, a team of engineers working with the National Chung Hsing University developed a programming language they call Dong and can be used to turn smart watches such as the Apple Watch into remote controls.

The team used the Apple Watch along with its own software to decent movement in the wearers, which then translates to changes in the pitch and tilt of the drone.

In this case, the software, installed on an Apple Watch, uses an algorithm to detect movement in the wearer’s arm, which is then translated into changes in the pitch and tilt of a drone.

As you can see in the video below, project leader Mark Ven moves a Parrot AR Drone 3.0 from left to right using gestures:

“Previously we’ve needed complicated controls to fly drones, but now we can use a wearable device and through human behavior and gestures directly interact with them – using a hand to control and fly drones directly.”

The team believes that the Dong language can be used for other purposes, such as in the home for turning on lights and such.

“When I clap twice the light turns on, as it detects that I’m clapping. When I write an English ‘R’ in the air the red light turns on, and when I write an English ‘Y’ the yellow light turns on. Lastly, when I clap twice the light turns off. ”

When you’ll be able to get your hands on this software is still unknown, but the idea of using gestures to control things seems like an interesting use case and could be another area where having something on you wrist trumps having something in your hands.