Fingers crossed by the world for the five people aboard the Titanil lost submarine for more than 24 hours during an underwater visit to the wreck of the Titanic, at a depth of about 3800 meters.
The submersible’s oxygen supplies guarantee an autonomy of up to 96 hours, which means that it is a real race against time.
The authorities are currently engaged, with air and naval deployments, in probing the vast area. The problem, in fact, is to locate the Titan, which is literally missing.
To organize the visit to the Titanic which now threatens to turn into a disaster is the company OceanGate Expeditions, which in these hours is at the center of various controversies for the safety standards adopted. The tourists, before boarding, took tests of suitability and signed a liability release, taking note of the risks associated with the trip.
However, there is much more that is emerging in these hours. Among these, the fact that the Titan was piloted with a video game controller, which was also very cheap.
The lost submarine Titan piloted with a Logitech video game controller
A CBS Sunday Morning service last November, dedicated precisely to the Titan and its enterprise, showed some details relating to the submarine. Among them the fact that the Titan was driven with a Logitech F710 controller, usually used for PC video games. A classic controller with two analog sticks, which can be found on the market for just over €40.
On that occasion CBS correspondent David Pogue had interviewed Stockton Rush, founder and CEO of OceanGate Expeditionsalso among those missing aboard the submarine.
During the interview, Rush explained that the game controller was more than enough to handle all the functions of the submarine.
It must be said that the use of game controllers to drive vehicles is nothing new, as it is also common practice in the military. In fact, in recent years, the US Navy and Army have used common Xbox controllers to control sensors, robots and drones. However, one detail remains: on board the submarine there are civilians, whose lives are literally hanging by a thread.