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Submarine missing near Titanic used a $30 Logitech gamepad for steering

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/06/submarine-missing-near-titanic-used-a-30-logitech-gamepad-for-steering/?amp%3Butm_social-type=owned&amp%3Butm_source=mastodon&amp%3Butm_medium=social

While rescuers fear for crew, Logitech F710 PC gamepad sells out within minutes.

13 comments

ringwraithfish

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So many thoughts go through my head from the picture and article.

Why go with wireless? If you're insistent on a controller, wouldn't wired make more sense purely for reliability? I'm not an engineer, but I would easily bet that Logitech didn't design the controller with that environment in mind. Also, did they pack extra batteries?
why fully digital? I don't see any backup controls in the picture. What happens if the PC or controller fails?
is it running off a standard PC? PCs can work but aren't optimal for real time needs like this. I hope they didn't just load up some custom software on a Windows PC and call it a day
in another article, they said exterior crew bolted them in. This Echoes of Apollo one. Imagine they're just off course and are able to make it to the surface. What a sad way to die if they were so close to semi-safety but ended up suffocating because they couldn't open the hatch.

This is what happens when the Elon Musks of the world are allowed to pretend to be engineers

Ivaldi3D

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Regulations (or lack thereof) aside, I would never crawl inside that thing if my life depended on it. I couldn't imagine shelling out stacks of cash to sit inside that tin can. I was shocked when I first saw videos. How could a potential patron look at that and go, "I'm okay with this."

I don't think they're going to locate the wreckage for a long time to come. And I think it's safe to assume that, at this point, there are no survivors.

dm_me_your_secrets

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The image is so perfect..

Shiroa

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The audio is better. In the video, the guy on the right is describing all of the cut-rate random stuff he built the sub out of. He turns around and then turns back with the game controller and the reporter on the left goes "YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME", and the video immediately cuts to the next scene.

markisus

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Do you think it was the controller that failed though? I think something much more catastrophic must have happened.

smuuthbrane

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The article implies that using an off the shelf controller wouldn't pass regulations. What regulation, exactly? This is a fully custom build sub, there's nothing regulation about it, save for things like emergency gear, communications, and the like. But steering control? I very much doubt that.

geoffervescent

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Well presumably it's registered and licensed in some country that inspects commercial vehicles for seaworthiness periodically. Having a water resistant mechanism that can control your rudders and buoyancy seems like a baseline for seaworthiness but that's just my take.

Devi

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I was watching a news item earlier and apparently on getting on you need to sign a paper that says it hasn't been inspected or certified by any third party. It's just DIY.

ringwraithfish

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Millionaires and billionaires with too much money and not enough sense.

exohuman

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Looking at the corners they cut, they didn’t spend enough money on this. Why is there nothing to automatically locate them? Why aren’t they able to communicate with the outside?

Devi

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Tbf, poor people do risky activities too. Rich people hire submarines, pay for tourist trips to space, and go climb everest, all of which have a fairly high risk of death. Poor people do street racing, do wheelies on dirt bikes, or go diving off cliffs.

It's just some humans are super cavalier with their safety.

SanguineBrah

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I used one of those as my daily driver for a while. The ergonomics were murdering my hands. I would not want to have to use one as part of my job.