(NewsNation) — A one-of-a-kind submersible that went lacking whereas carrying 5 individuals to the Titanic shipwreck on Sunday was outfitted with “off-the-shelf” elements and piloted utilizing a online game controller.
Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions — the corporate that owns the submersible known as Titan — confirmed CBS correspondent David Pogue the distinctive parts in a November CBS TV phase.
“We run the entire thing with this recreation controller,” Rush advised Pogue as he held up a modified Logitech gamepad controller contained in the sub.
Rush additionally highlighted the vessel’s one and solely button.
“It needs to be like an elevator, it shouldn’t take lots of talent,” Rush stated.
When Pogue requested concerning the “MacGyvered” tools, Rush pushed again and identified that a very powerful half — the strain vessel — was constructed with assist from consultants at Boeing, NASA, and the College of Washington.
“The whole lot else can fail,” Rush stated. “Your thrusters can go, your lights can go, you’re nonetheless going to be secure.”
The small, five-person vacationer vessel isn’t the one sub that makes use of a online game controller.
In 2018, the U.S. Navy unveiled a brand new 377-foot-long assault submarine full with an Xbox controller. However the controller, which is cheaper and simpler to make use of than a joystick, doesn’t management the whole sub. Sailors use it to maneuver the photonics masts, which perform equally to periscopes.
Different weapons for the U.S. Military, together with a laser cannon constructed by Boeing, are reportedly operated utilizing Xbox controllers. Gaming controllers have additionally develop into normal for bomb technicians.
It’s unclear if the controller from the CBS phase in November was the identical one used for the newest expedition.
In an interview with NewsNation on Monday, Pogue described Titan as a cramped sub suffering from mechanical points.
“On my dive to the Titanic we solely acquired 37 toes down when there was a mechanical drawback and we needed to come again as much as the floor, and that’s typical,” stated Pogue.
These dangers, he stated, are outlined within the paperwork that expedition individuals signal earlier than happening the tour.
“You signal a waiver, it says ‘these are all of the methods you possibly can die,’ they define it for you,” Pogue stated.
Tickets for the Titanic expedition this 12 months value $250,000 every, based on OceanGate’s web site.
On Tuesday, rescue groups continued their seek for the lacking sub. Coast Guard officers estimate that the 5 passengers had about 40 hours of breathable air remaining as of 1 p.m. Japanese time.
