• Diplomjodler
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    -275 days ago

    Using off the shelf consumer electronics in safety critical applications is never OK.

    • @[email protected]
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      585 days ago

      I would argue that the consumer electronics had more testing and engineering experience behind them than the structural parts of the sub…

      • @[email protected]
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        4 days ago

        The funny thing is, the news articles got stuck on the least significant (but funny) detail. The main emphasis should have been on the fact that lots of people had noticed serious problems with the design, but one stubborn guy decided to roll the dice anyway. Well, you reap what you sow.

    • @[email protected]
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      385 days ago

      Of course it is. The US Navy uses Xbox controllers for their photonic masts, which we can all agree is pretty safety critical.

      • @froh42
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        185 days ago

        Thanks. I did remember that US subs used a off the shelf controller but couldn’t think of the specific example.

        Additionally with an off the shelf controller it’s really easy to pack a replacement one. (And building a controller yourself - that one will always be worse and heavier than an off the shelf one plus replacement)

        The crazy thing really is how they ignored everyone on warnings how not to construct a hull.

      • Diplomjodler
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        35 days ago

        World you get into a plane that was controlled with one of those?

        • @[email protected]
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          235 days ago

          The army uses Xbox controllers because the recruits are already familiar with them and don’t need training on a new and expensive custom controller. It’s more user friendly and reduces input errors.

        • @[email protected]
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          185 days ago

          No, but not due to reliability.

          Rather because an Xbox controller is not designed to fly a real aircraft.

          I would however go on a boat that was controlled with an Xbox controller, less speed and one less direction to worry about.

    • @[email protected]
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      305 days ago

      Using off the shelf consumer electronics for safety critical applications is fine.

      In this case the controller is engineered to work well for a resonable time.

      Ok, the controller is not waterproof, but if you get water inside a sub, you have larger problems than moving it, and you have other ways of triggering an emergency blow.

      • @[email protected]
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        5 days ago

        honestly I would prefer to drive a DIY custom built machine using a popular off the shelf gamepad, that way I could buy a handful of controllers and keep them in the cockpit as backups.

        • @[email protected]
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          33 days ago

          Given the option between making my own controller vs buying a dozen Xbox controllers, yeah gonna go with Xbox. Nothing I make will get anywhere near as good.

    • @ilinamorato
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      125 days ago

      Off the shelf consumer electronics were not the problem.

    • unknown1234_5
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      64 days ago

      it’s the same functionality but cheaper and easier to use, it’s such a good idea the navy has been trying to switch everything they can to off the shelf stuff.