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this post was submitted on 22 Jun 2023
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The more I have read about this, the more disgusted I am. This company generally, and the CEO personally, took all sorts of shortcuts to build this thing.
The CEO stated that he didn't want to have any ex military submarine experts as part of the team, because they were "uninspiring" and "50 year old white guys", and he'd rather have young college grads who are inspiring. The real reason: the college grads were simply cheaper. He didn't want to pay the ex military experts. That's it.
The CEO lied to CBS news in their CBS Sunday morning report and told them that Boeing and University of Washington consulted with them on the design of the submersible. Both organizations told the NY Post today that they had no involvement with it. So that was a fucking lie. All he did was use the UW lab after hours.
The use of a Logitech PS3 style controller to navigate the vehicle...what the actual fuck.
Because this was a submersible in international waters, there are virtually no regulations. That needs to change. If the UN needs to draft a treaty for countries to ratify to regulate these things in international waters, then that's what needs to happen.
I don’t see the issue in using a controller, the US Navy does the same
https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/18/17136808/us-navy-uss-colorado-xbox-controller
I do think it’s ironic that they used a Logitech controller instead of an Xbox controller, but the reasoning is probably similar to the US Navy’s
I do. I've been an avid PC Gamer my entire adult life and I've never had a Logitech product that wasn't terribly glitchy. When I heard that bit it made me feel like Moss in The IT Crowd.
Did you use this specific controller? It is actually a beast, very high quality and durable. I've used a Logitech Rumblepad 2for almost a decade. The only issue I had with it is that it did not support xinput, only direct input, so a lot of games do not support it anymore. But still works like a charm.
However I won't trust my life on it.
The difference is they collab with the military to make actual quality shit. Their consumer products are just a side-gig!
Logitech used to make good controllers - dunno how they are now. But they shouldn't have used a bluetooth one. But they did have a backup controller also. And probably didn't plan on getting close to any obstacles they could collide with.
Imo it's the least problematic part of the whole setup.
The big difference I see is what it's controlling. Sure, the Navy used Xbox controllers for intuitive use of the periscope. I bet if you asked them "please make all ship attitude controls, and therefore crew safety, reliant on this," they would laugh at you and walk away.
Using a controller is fine, but I'm sure they are hardwired. There is a Today show interview where the CEO specifically said they use them over bluetooth.
Absolutely all shit made up in my brain from my hatred of bluetooth. I could definitely see the controller dying because they forgot to charge it, tried to connect the spare but bluetooth being bluetooth wouldn't. Then they drift into the Titantic, get a puncture and implode.
Vivid imagery befitting the general reliability of Bluetooth (witness me covering one of my EarPods to get the other one to connect up and sync with my phone at least once a day) but putting all the pieces together, my best guess is that the pressure vessel split at one of the seams between the cylindrical carbon fiber center section due to fatigue at the joint, well above their target depth. There's a reason why every other DSV designed to reach those depths uses a single-piece spherical pressure vessel.
I keep people saying the porthole window was only rated for ~1300 meter dives, though I haven't seen the source for this yet.
Also fiberglass as a material and the way they were cheaping out on checking it for imperfections.
But yeah also the join. It seems so obviously a horrible idea.
Ahhhh now that’s insane, there’s no good reason for that to be wireless at all…
The fact that it's a wireless controller is what I really don't understand. Why would you want to risk interference, battery issues, etc?
I think it's because they said they'd pass it to the passengers to let them control it. Easier to hand around. Maybe? Which would still be dumb because it introduces risks and they could just swap seats instead.
I have to admit that a game controller, at least the ergonomics and controls of one, likely makes more sense than it would seem at first blush.
I think it’s more a problem with circumstances and optics. If all was well and this whole fiasco didn’t happen, I could see it being framed as a sort of goofy trivia piece, just like the US Navy’s use. But when things go wrong as they did here, it feels like the kind of bit that’s incredibly easy to reach and dunk on.
I’m not inclined to hinge my disappointment on the game controller, but I can’t blame anyone for doing that, either.
Oh yeah. There was a show years ago called Bomb Patrol: Afghanistan where EOD techs were on deployment detonating roadside bombs. The robot they used was controlled by an Xbox controller and the guy best at the job was their youngest team member because….video games
sad PC gamer noises