Missing Titanic Sub was Piloted Using a $69 Video Game Controller

The missing tourist submersible that dove into the wrecked Titanic earlier this week was revealed to be controlled by a modified video game controller, as a broadcast news segment last year showed. Back in November…

IJR SyndicatedJun 26, 20232 min read

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The

U.S. Navy

in fact has had a place for Xbox 360 controllers on some of its active submarines since 2018,

Insider

reported. The Navy utilizes these devices because they’re cheap and easy to learn.

Harvard marine scientist Peter Girguis agreed, saying video game controllers can make submersibles and submarines more reliable vehicles.

“They’re intuitive,” Girguis said. “What REALLY MATTERS is the physical design and integrity of any sub, as well as the control and safety systems.”

A submersible is different from a submarine in that the former does not have the capability to travel far on its own. Rather, a submersible relies upon the help of a mother ship which transports the smaller vessel and monitors its location.

Additional safety concerns regarding the Titan’s experimental functionality involved pushing an “elevator” button to operate the entire vessel and receiving text messages to navigate underwater.

After capturing national attention, it was eventually concluded that the vessel suffered an underwater implosion and all five passengers died, according to USA Today. One of the people aboard the watercraft was ironically OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who allegedly disregarded safety measures.

The U.S. Coast Guard revealed Thursday afternoon that a debris field containing parts of the Titan submersible was discovered near the Titanic wreckage 13,000 feet below sea level. It was also reported that the Navy detected underwater noises on Sunday.

The entire incident is still under investigation.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.