A “Tactile Autonomous Drone” (TAD) (e.g., flying drones, mobile robots, etc.) supplies real-time tactile feedback to users immersed in virtual reality (VR) environments. TADs are not rendered into the VR environment, and are therefore not visible to users immersed in the VR environment. In various implementations, one or more TADs track users as they move through a real-world space while immersed in the VR environment. One or more TADs apply tracking information to autonomously position themselves, or one or more physical surfaces or objects carried by the TADs, in a way that enables physical contact between those surfaces or objects and one or more portions of the user's body. Further, this positioning of surfaces or objects corresponds to some real-time virtual event, virtual object, virtual character, virtual avatar of another user, etc., in the VR environment to provide real-time tactile feedback to users immersed in the VR environment.