A
control system for operation of a remote vehicle comprises a twin-grip hand-held controller having a volume of less than 1
liter and a weight of less than 1 lb. The twin-grip hand-held controller includes: a left grip shaped to be held between a user's left
little finger,
ring finger, and the ball of the
thumb, leaving the user's left
index finger,
middle finger, and
thumb free; a left
control zone adjacent to the left grip, including a first analog
joystick and a first 4-way directional control manipulable by the
left thumb, and a left rocker control located on a shoulder portion of the controller; a
right handed grip shaped to be held between the user's right
little finger,
ring finger, and the ball of the
thumb, leaving the user's left
index finger,
middle finger, and thumb free; a right
control zone adjacent the right grip, including a second analog
joystick and a second 4-way directional control manipulable by the
right thumb, and a right rocker control located on a shoulder portion of the controller; a tether zone between the left
control zone and the right control zone, including a tether anchor configured to tether the hand controller between the left grip and the right grip and to permit the hand controller to hang with the left grip and right grip pointing upward; a tether extending from the tether anchor to the
right shoulder of an operator, the tether including a
strain relief section. A quick-release pad is worn on an operator's chest, the quick-release pad including a first
fastener for affixing the quick-release pad to available mounts on the operator, and a second quick-release
fastener for holding the hand-held controller to the quick-release pad to be readily removable by pulling on the hand-held controller.