I don’t think that’s particularly bad. Logitech makes reliable input devices. I recall that the US Navy switched to Xbox controllers to control their periscopes on nuclear submarines and saved millions of dollars and found that people understood the controls better.
The navy uses it for periscopes, and training. Not piloting anything like this. This thing was definitely made as cheap as possible.
An off the shelf controller with several backup failsafes (they keep spares on board) is a perfectly reasonable way to do this. In such a cramped space, a hardwired or mounted helm would probably be continuously bumped or tangled.
Any custom purpose-built wireless device would just introduce more complication than necessary.
Sure, but they should still have to be vetted by the Defense Logistics Agency. That includes Quality Assurance overview.
I mean, Logitech makes reliable stuff. But shouldn’t they at lease have a player 2 MadKatz controller in a bin somewhere?
Imagine having to pilot a submarine with stick drift.
If it works it wo…
never mind.
I had a Logitech F310 which started malfunctioning, where the left stick’s signal was always halfway to the left. Logitech’s quality isn’t what it used to be. I can imagine something like this happening on the submarine. Question is whether they had a replacement and if they even recognized that the gamepad was malfunctioning.
Fun fact: The Logitech Extreme 3D-stick is used in many professional systems, but those are reliable.
I feel like that’s the different between buying something and repurposing it and buying something and using it as intended.
In other words. Use the right tool for the job. A hammer isn’t a screwdriver just because you can technically hammer in screws.
A crescent wrench, on the other hand…
Never mind the games controller. They bolt u in from the outside?! I’d never survive the panic attack
The submarine seems to have only one button for on/off… Did they think they can connect to iTunes there in case of some boot issues?
Hope they downloaded all the music to play offline
Not a big difference since you were planning to be locked in underwater anyway
Nottheonion?
And to think a billionaire was on board.
So it’s not a total loss then?
If they are still alive in it what a nightmare they must be enduring right now, with only like 30hrs of oxygen left.
I feel like they likely lost pressure or some catastrophic failure and have been dead.
Or theogotec controller died and they drifted away and haven’t been found.
Either way it seems really bad for those inside.
I couldn’t imagine being in a cramped space 2.5 miles under the sea with 4 other people waiting for that time. Horrific comes to mind but I don’t think there is an adequate word for it.
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One of the guided cave tours I’ve done has a moment where they shut off the lights and encourage everyone to be as quiet as possible. Not being able to see the hand in front of your face is interesting for a few seconds, probably terrifying for hours.
Should have used a Xbox 360 controller
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They could’ve done a 360 and walked away…
If they did a 360, they’d still be walking forward…
That is one of the least concerning parts of this lol, at least Logitech makes quality peripherals. If I had to choose a single manufacturer for input devices, it’d probably be them.
And it was probably the best built component of the entire sub
Much has been made of thos controller thing and I think it’s getting overblown. I can not speak authoritatively on the safety of the sub or the whole operation but I am aware that off the shelf video game controllers are used for a lot of things including even military vehicles. It’s a good controlling device for many things. Yeh it probably looks a little worrying when you step in to something being manoeuvered by a videogame controller, it’s not good vibes or optics but, it’s not itself a reliable signifier of anything really.
Yeah, if they had not used an off the shelf part, then people would make fun of the janky controls with “levers and pulleys.” The thing is a simple control scheme that’s well understood and easy to learn. It gives inputs to an onboard computer which interprets pilot intent and steers the vessel (how ever questionable the vessel’s construction might be).
Game controllers are used for all kinds of robots and vessels (often remote controlled) - so the fact they chose a controller does not weird me out at all.
Do I think they could have gotten a better quality controller? Yea, sure. Do I think maybe a wired controller would have been better? My gut says yes, but I don’t know their decision making process and the engineering challenges with running cables.
Hope they had a backup
This is an interesting article that makes some good points. Why re-invent the wheel and potentially make something unnecessarily complicated and less reliable when simple items with simple electronics often have less that could go wrong?
I think most people are roasting their choice of game controller. The cheapo Logitech model. Plus if they wanted simple and reliable I would think a wired version would be better, not the wireless model. The military is all the time using them for controlling UAVs and stuff in the field. Nobody really pokes fun because it doesn’t look like the cheap controller you’d hand off to “player 2”.
The US Navy uses game controllers to control their parascope.
