Yes, the missing Titanic tourist sub is piloted with a video game controller — but some US Navy submarines also utilize Xbox 360 controllers
- The missing Titanic submersible was run with a Logitech gamepad controller.
- The US Navy has used Xbox 360 controllers to operate the photonic masts in submarines since 2018.
The tourist submersible that went missing while carrying five people to view the Titanic shipwreck on Sunday is piloted with a video-game controller, prompting some criticism, but even the US Navy has utilized controllers in the past.
The submersible, called the Titan, is unlike a submarine in that it does not have enough power to leave and return to port on its own without the help of a mothership. The support ship transports the vessel to and from the location where the dive is taking place.
Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, the company behind the Titan's deep-sea tours, told CBS News in November that the vessel was operated with a modified Logitech gamepad controller. The crew in the sub receives text message instructions from the surface ship and then uses the controller to steer the sub.
The use of a video game controller to pilot the 23,000-pound Titan vessel on its dives 13,000 feet below sea level sparked mockery online, with some claiming the sub was destined to fail.
But the idea isn't as far-fetched as it may sound. The use of simple devices like controllers can actually make submersibles more reliable, Harvard marine scientist Peter Girguis told Insider's Kwan Wei Kevin Tan.
In fact, the US military also uses video game hardware.
In 2017, the US Navy announced it would begin using Xbox 360 controllers in submarines to operate the photonic masts, which replaced periscopes. A 377-foot-long sub known as the USS Colorado was the first to utilize the controllers when it joined the Navy's fleet in 2018.
Cmdr. Reed Koepp told USA Today at the time the controllers were cost-effective and came with an added bonus — young sailors already knew how to handle them.
At least two major weapons systems that the US military is focusing on utilize Xbox-style controllers, Task and Purpose reported in March.
Girguis said making fun of the gaming controller in the submersible was appealing because it's "an easy target" but that a lot of undersea vessels "use similar controllers."
"Why? They're intuitive," he said. "What REALLY MATTERS is the physical design and integrity of any sub, as well as the control and safety systems."