(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” components and piloted utilizing a online game controller.
Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions — the corporate that owns the submersible referred to as Titan — confirmed CBS correspondent David Pogue the distinctive elements in a November CBS TV section.
“We run the entire thing with this sport 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 ought to be like an elevator, it shouldn’t take a variety of ability,” Rush stated.
When Pogue requested concerning the “MacGyvered” gear, Rush pushed again and identified that a very powerful half — the stress vessel — was constructed with assist from specialists at Boeing, NASA, and the College of Washington.
“Every part 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 your entire 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 change into normal for bomb technicians.
It’s unclear if the controller from the CBS section in November was the identical one used for the most recent 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 received 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 would die,’ they define it for you,” Pogue stated.
Tickets for the Titanic expedition this 12 months value $250,000 every, in response to 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.
