Method of estimating an attitude of a control device for controlling operating machines

A method of controlling an operating machine according to different directions of movement using a control device, the method comprising the steps of:

• estimating an attitude of the control device, the control device comprising a plurality of pushbuttons for controlling a movement of the operating machine along at least four directions and a quadrant indicating the at least four directions, the method comprising the following steps:
• defining a safety range around an Earth's magnetic field value (A), the safety range being defined between a low threshold value (B) of the magnetic field and a high threshold value (C) of the magnetic field;
• preliminarily estimating an attitude of the control device using data from an accelerometer and data from a magnetometer onboard of the control device;
• updating a preliminary estimate of the attitude of the control device using data from a gyroscope onboard of the control device;
• and
• no longer using the data from the magnetometer, if the data are not within the safety range;
• determining a heading angle of the control device as a function of the estimated attitude;
• and
• reassigning the control functions of the pushbuttons of the control device as a function of the determined heading angle of the control device in such a way that the reassigned control functions of the pushbuttons correspond to the at least four directions indicated on the quadrant.