r/interestingasfuck • u/ThugLeeVoguee • 1d ago

The implosion of the Titan submarine (OceanGate) was so rapid that the pain wasn't even registered by the brain. They didn't feel anything at all. Utterly instantaneous.

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u/Inaccurate93 1d ago

Pay millions of dollars to be locked into a can with 6 other men with only a PS1 joystick to control the tin can, oh and it's a one way trip.

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u/redlancer_1987 1d ago

uh, I think you mean a Logitech F710 controller. It'd be crazy to use a Sony, that wouldn't be considered safe.

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u/yeahright17 1d ago edited 1d ago

I've always thought the hate for the controller was pretty stupid. Using a preexisting controller to control the thing was fine. That's not why it failed.

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u/Teslapromt 1d ago

It is dumb. People who are making fun of it, even though it's just input controls, which can be anything, and Logitech controllers are generally decently reliable. It shouldn't be the only way of controlling the sub, but it can be one of them, but that's an issue of error prevention. People making fun of controller would be shocked to learn what US military (and other militaries) use on the regular to control machines of war.

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u/yeahright17 1d ago

Literally just commented to a different reply that the US military uses xbox controllers all the time.

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u/WingerRules 1d ago edited 1d ago

I guarantee somewhere on the market there are input devices designed for no fail situations.

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u/CricketPinata 1d ago

Most controller options are bespoke and expensive if you want one designed for a purpose. USB controllers are universal, easy to find well-made versions, and easily replaceable.

It is cheaper and more reliable to just use off-the-shelf USB controllers, than to have someone engineer one in a garage for you.

The Controller wasn't the issue, it was the hull and design of the sub.

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u/WingerRules 1d ago

He went with the cheap option because the entire design of the sub was cost cutting, they even used carbon fiber that was basically expired junk carbon fiber. I can't tell you how many gaming controllers I've had have faults and I've had to replace, but I basically stopped buying games on the PS5 because I'm on my 4th controller now on that system alone.

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u/CricketPinata 1d ago

Right, but using an off-the-shelf USB controller wasn't the failure point, or the concern. USB controllers are very common for controlling nautical equipment that doesn't suck.

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u/MikeW86 1d ago

It's a thing that does everything you need it to do and is designed to survive hundreds of thousands of cycles on all its inputs. You could easily keep 2 more backups on board if you felt paranoid. Of allllll the terrible design decisions this one was completely justified and had precisely zero influence on the failure.

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u/Busy_Phase8285 19h ago

Thing is, that controller was designed and manufactured to "playing video game" standards. If some component breaks, you can just get another one. It's simply an inconvenience. It was NOT designed and manufactured to "human-rated safety critical" standards. And they still used it as the only way to control the vehicle. If it craps out, then in the immortal words if Richard Pryor, "that's your ass".

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u/vemundveien 8h ago

and Logitech controllers are generally decently reliable

Honestly I would spring for an original Xbox controller at least. Logitech controllers are former Saitek controllers, and as someone who has owned several Saitek HOTAS controllers, reliability is not the reason for why I have owned so many.