There might be a more intuitive way to control robots and drones than waggling joysticks or tapping at a screen. MIT CSAIL researchers have developed a control method, Conduct-A-Bot, that uses muscle sensors and motion detection for more ‘natural’ robot control. Algorithms detect gestures using both your movement as well as the activity in your biceps, forearms and triceps. You can wave your hand, clench your fist or even tense your arm to steer the bot.

The system doesn’t need environmental cues, offline calibration or per-person training. You could just start using it, in other words.