🤦♂️
If anything that controller was the most solidly built thing on that entire sub.
The classic little brother defence flipped as prosecution. It was the controller all along.
Behind the Bastards did a pretty great two-parter on Stockton Rush, and how a) he completely shit the bed while ignoring all the super-deep-exploration experts, and b) how nature was totally telegraphing to Rush and OceanGate that this submersible is totally not doing it and will end in a spectacular tragedy, only no one else will be down there to watch but the fishes.
The controller wasn’t a particularly weak link, though for safety’s sake I’d want there to be a redundant spare, and it set up for plug and play. But higher on my priority list would be things like integrity monitors and an emergency way to open the sub from the inside (the hatch was bolted from the outside, and there were no emergency exit measures.
… How do you propose to emergency exit that sub at 1000 meters depth?
I’d say the bigger issue is that he used a carbon fibre body, a material which has great tensile Strength but sucks for this.
They way bigger issue than that is that he glued the metal rear section to the carbon fiber body. Both materials expand and contract differently under pressure, which is not what you want at 3 kilometer deep pressures, especially with multiple descends and ascends. That glue could never keep those materials together, that alone was a disaster waiting to happen
They way bigger issue than that is that he glued the metal rear section to the carbon fiber body. Both materials expand and contract differently under pressure, which is not what you want at 3 kilometer deep pressures, especially with multiple descends and ascends. That glue could never keep those materials together, that alone was a disaster waiting to happen
And people usually consider this when building a barn, doing plumbing in a house. The scariest thing is how can someone who doesn’t understand this make a submarine. Real Crassus vibes.
The problem was that if they surfaced away from the support vessel, there was no way to open it to get fresh air. So you could still run out of oxygen and die while floating around on the surface waiting to be found.
To be fair, they all exited the vehicle pretty quickly at the time without it needing to be unbolted from the outside. Experts… pfft.
pfft.
The sound made as they exited, spaghettified.
spaghettified
Extruded?
Nonsense, “spaghettified” is a perfectly cromulent word
Such bad taste, sir. Have a reluctant upvote for that absolutely crushing wit.
Are you hoping to get upvotes for “crushing”?
How dare you. I would never go so low
Fr srious tho, it is really tragic. The young man especially; he was completely innocent and deserved better
Anyone who uses the F710 more than an hour will have it randomly disconnect like twice. No idea who okayed that part but it wasn’t even the affordable option at the time as it was ALREADY years out of production when they built the sub.
Why are people still discussing this as if something wrong had happened?
They fucked around and found out.
These people thought they can make a life size toy sub and use that instead of a normal one, and that people with actual expertise are below them.
I have that exact controller. It sometimes randomly disconnects forma few seconds. It is a weak link.
Since the story came out people fixated on “lol he used a shitty gaming controller” but really that is one of the least sketchy design choices in the entire rig. Why reinvent the wheel and make a custom set of controls that are realistically another huge expense and potential failure point, when off the shelf solutions exist for that component?
The corners that were cut are the ones involving the viewport/nose adhesion to the ships frame, and the structural integrity of the carbon fiber hull itself. They had test data suggesting it was a bad idea to engage in repeated dives with their design, and an even worse idea to operate at the depths they chose. They decided to ignore that.
Having tried to use those, my main issue was the 710 is an unreliable 2.4ghz wireless, when bluetooth controllers all worked much better for me. I couldn’t get the 710 to have reliable button presses from more than like 4 feet from my pc, so I ended up just using the 310 wired. Maybe there isn’t enough interference on the sub for that to be an issue.
There’s going to be no external interference when you’re under water. Sea water makes an excellent em shield
True, but that’s hardly an endorsement for their safety. Wireless should never be used for critical life support equipment. It is mind bogglingly stupid they did this.
Using off the shelve components is not an issue, even NASA does it but they have very precise procedures on how to select them.
This particular model of controller is notoriously terrible, unreliable, and prone to contact failure. Anyone reading the amazon reviews would know it wasn’t even a good choice as a player2 little brother controller.
using a wireless controller to manage life critical functions is the acme of stupidity.
The game controller is not managing life critical functions, that’s called a computer. The game controller plugs into the computer. The great thing about that is that you can bring a second (or even a third) game controller for redundancy.
It’s just that the engineering choices that caused the failure are difficult to understand or communicate in sentence so the game controller is something any idiot can harp on about and sound smart.
he game controller is not managing life critical functions
oh, it doesn’t control ascent and descent, angle of attack, etc? it’s not used to turn or operate the craft, that’s all ‘done by computer’?
pfft.
bluetooth and other wireless interface protocols aren’t meant for life critical applications. give me a hardwired input - even a game controller - any day when it comes to life or death shit.
From what I can tell the lawsuit (which is against Ocean Gate, not Logitech) is really just calling out the controller as another example of willfully negligent behaviour.
You’re certainly correct that the actual cause of the failure was the carbon fibre hull. Just a terrible idea on so many levels. Carbon fibre, by its nature, is good under tension, not compression. It was never going to function well as a pressure vessel underwater.
There were a litany of terrible decisions made by Ocean Gate, such as not tethering the sub, because it was cheaper to launch it from a towed raft, but none of those bad decisions ultimately mattered once that pressure vessel failed. Those people were dead so fast that, to quote Scott Manley, “You go from being biology to being physics.”
You can always bring a second controller for redundancy. I would bet money the game controller had zero impact on the failure and I hate all the shade being thrown on this innocent controller.
Yeah, I agree wholeheartedly.
That game controller has terrible range, zero compatibility with any other device, and randomly adds inputs when the controller is more than 2 feet away from the receiver. It is reasonable to consider if uncontrolled movement contributed to the implosion, or a loss of control at a critical moment preventing return to the surface.
Add to that that the carbon fiber and metal nose shrink at different rates under pressure. That adhesive litteraly was being torn apart at depth
Wasnt the carbon fiber body rated for like, 1/3rd the depth that they dove to?
It was very NASA O-Ring vibes. “We did it once, so we can do it every time” at least until they cant anymore, and that cant is usually accompanied by regret and poor innocent people being salsafied.
Carbon fiber wasn’t rated for any depth. It’s shit for compression and you don’t need light materials for a submersible.
No, you’re right… I think it was the winshield bubble that was rated for 1/3rd the depth? I know something was rated for a far shallower depth than what the dumbass CEO made the sub repeatedly go to.
Also, these materials compress at different rates.
An off the shelf controller wasn’t a terrible idea, but of course it was blue tooth and had pairing issues on previous trips
F710 does not support bluetooth
No, but it supports wireless using 2.4ghz with an usb receiver. it does not support a wired connection at all.
https://www.logitechg.com/en-eu/products/gamepads/f710-wireless-gamepad.940-000145.html
It may be 2.4ghz but it isn’t compatible with anything else anywhere and the range is terrible. Like as in if you are more than 2 feet from the receiver it will random spaz.
It’s connection is proprietary and terrible with near zero range. It’s objectively worse than bluetooth
Dude, the F710 is legitimately a terrible controller with a tiny range and a manufacture flawed nano receiver. I mean it’s not the steepest corner they cut but you can get a rock solid drone remote with ridiculous range for barely twice the price of an f710.
It was a stupid choice that they actively ignored the results. Like i said, ANYONE who uses this controller for more than an hour will directly experience how terrible it is.
Weren’t they using it wirelessly too?
At the very least, maybe use a Xbox elite controller
Using commercial off the shelf technology without proper testing and certification is absolutely cutting corners. See: Kaprun disaster.
What kind of fire rating did those COTS parts throughout the interior of the vessel have? What kind of redundancy existed? Would you use a Logitech controller for a spacecraft? The requirements of deep sea submersibles and spacecraft are quite similar. Would any of the submersible certification agencies approved this? I think not.
I see the Logitech controller, the carbon fiber hull, and so many other decisions he made as symptoms of the same corner cutting, “move fast and break things” mentality he had.
The requirements of deep sea submersibles and spacecraft are quite similar.
Exactly this. When you procure custom hardware, you’re paying (a lot) for the vendor to ensure that each unit meets the specifications you provide. If you validate off the shelf hardware like this, there is no guarantee that another batch of the same sku will also meet your requirements. Imagine training on these controllers then a certain batch of them has wildly different sensitivity.
Using commercial off the shelf technology without proper testing and certification is absolutely cutting corners. See: Kaprun disaster.
I just read the wikipedia article; thanks for mentioning it.
I’m not sure it’s a good example of your point, though. Notably:
the cause was the failure, overheating and ignition of a fan heater in the conductor’s compartments which was not designed for use in a moving vehicle.
The onboard electric power, hydraulic braking systems, and fan heaters intended for domestic use increased the likelihood of fire.
The fan heater is the only off-the-shelf technology listed here, and there’s no suggestion that it was part of the train’s design. It seems likely that a train conductor brought it on board to keep the compartment warm through the workday. Still a bad idea in a train, especially on a 30° slope, but not an example of the designers cutting corners.
It was not a train conductor that brought it with him, it was build into the train by the train manufacturer. See this page: https://155.at/der-heizluefter/
it was build into the train by the train manufacturer.
What makes you think the train manufacturer did it? Is that on record someplace? Because the installation and materials don’t look at all like the surrounding work. Looks more like a handyman hack job. Now that I’ve seen the photos, I’m curious about what actually happened there.
It was not the train manufacturer, but a body shop (Swoboda Karosserie- und Stahlbau GesmbH, now Carvatech), which was recruited by the Gletscherbahn Kaprun (GBK) for renovations. It might have not had so large repercussions if anyone of the actors during those renovations had done his job correctly tho:
- the model chosen was for household use and chosen because the recommended fan heater was unavailable
- other departments of Swoboda (and because of that, everyone else) were not informed about this change, even leading to sending out the documentation of the recommended fan heater to GBK
- the fan heater was mounted in a way that allowed liquids to leak inside of it
- it was mounted directly in front of the hydraulics, which contained flammable liquids
- those hydraulics were redone during the renovations by Mannesmann-Rexroth AG (now Bosch Rexroth AG), and were done using plastic pipes and were not appropriately encased.
- They started melting because of the malfunctioning heater, spraying flammable oil at 190 bar into the fire
- the dropping oil pressure caused the train to automatically break
- but the hydraulics were also needed to open the goddamn doors.
On top of all that, because the cable cars were made of aluminium, they were deemed inflammable. This did not take into account that any installed equipment or passengers and their luggage might NOT be fireproof.
This lead to: no fire exits, no emergency signage, no training for employees how to react in case of fire.
it was a single malfunctioning heater, but the Kaprun disaster had many fathers.
I found a nice paper regarding the different actors written by a student of the University of Virginia here, well sourced.
Very informative. Thank you!
It’s an example of uncertified consumer grade equipment used in a commercial environment to disastrous results, outside of its original designed purpose. It’s one of the most well known examples of why you don’t use consumer grade hardware in a commercial/industrial setting.
It was not brought on board by the conductor or someone else, it was permanently installed in the train in place of commercial grade heaters they couldn’t source. It’s not a personal space heater if that’s what you’re picturing. It was a permanent part of the train, in the wall.
I’d argue it is an example of cutting corners, they didn’t want to find / pay more for commercial grade heaters. It was not compliant with the original design nor fire safety standards.
That doesn’t explain why they used the wireless version of that Logitech instead of wired to control the thing they were literally inside.
To be fair, they’re under water and sharks have been known to chew through electrical cables
I suspect the wired cabling would be to control components inside the sub, not outside. And I say that only because it’s unlikely that wireless signals would penetrate the sub walls.
Too dense to pick up on the obvious sarcasm, I see.
i think you’re supposed to say wooosh or something like that
“That doesn’t explain why they used the wireless version of that Logitech instead of wired to control the thing they were literally inside.”
Yes, that sarcasm is profound and deep.
In case my implied message is unclear, go fuck yourself.
Yes but with this sub the water was on the inside too
Lol
Electrical cables inside submarines?
That’s hardcore.
Have you seen pictures of the sub? What makes you think the wiring was all hidden?
It looked worse than cheapest capsule hotel ever built…
I’m mildly claustrophobic and I would have troubles going in that tube even on mainland.
The same reason you use the wireless version of any controller.
If you run into issues you can simply plug in any wireless controller.
they were building for billionaire pleasure trips, they’d HAVE to go with the no-wires aesthetic.
“Rush, who saw himself as an innovator like “Steve Jobs or Elon Musk,” the complaint says, once told Pogue, “At some point, safety just is pure waste.” Rush thought he had found a lighter way to build subs.”
This really summarizes the mindset of most second+ generation rich people. Because this guy lived with a lot of inherited money and power all his life, he assumed that everything that comes out of his brain must be the ultimate truth. So much so that without even a single reservation he happily took his son with him to that journey knowing full well that the submarine was probably violating several critical safety requirements that he deemed unnecessary. We are basically being ruled by such people folks.
Super accurate comment.
I’ve worked with plenty poor people who thought the exact same thing.
The only difference is that he actually had the resources to realize his stupid ideas
you should really consider frequency among non billionaires and among second+ generation billionaires. not that I have data on it but I really do think growing up in such an environment does inflate your sense of self idea worth and therefore such a person is more likely to act in this way (but not claiming at all that they are the only ones)
but it seems likely that the Logitech controller—along with the five people on the sub—is gone forever.
Love it
This controller kept me in rocket league gold for months. I put it on eBay and some shmuck said they need it in a submarine but are on a budget so max can do is three fiddy. I just wanted to get rid of the thing
Goddamn Loch Ness monster!
Pretty sure the fly by wire system isn’t why the beer can imploded.
The vast majority of the cause of the 3 mile island nuclear meltdown was a moisture soaked compressor pump completely unrelated to any of the safety or emergency systems. With complicated failures, the actual fault is not always easy to detect.
It’s reasonable to think that the controller might have contributed to unexpected descent past safety levels, or prevented them from recovering when warnings appeared.
Three mile island did not have a meltdown, ffs. Not even close.
Three mile island did not have a meltdown, ffs. Not even close.
“The Three Mile Island accident was a partial nuclear meltdown”
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Mile_Island_accident
You are technically correct, and that is the best kind of correct. I spoke from frustration, having grown up there. What i should have said was that there was no danger to the public, it was fully contained behind multiple redundant safety containments. Its frustrating because i feel like that incident stalled nuclear energy in this country since then.
At this point filing a multi-million dollar lawsuit against OceanGate will be like trying to extract blood from a stone.
What tangible assets do OceanGate really have left to pay Nargeolet’s estate? Their CEO (the maverick aerospace engineer who thought he was ‘revolutionizing’ the submarine industry by cutting corners) is dead, their only active submersible imploded, their reputation has been tainted by the fact that they’ve been selling billionaires what is effectively a carbon fiber coffin waiting to implode, and any angel investors have probably pulled out harder than a porn star on the verge of climax.
Even then, they may not even have a case. IANAL but in an age where every single tech and gaming company has been pushing through class action waivers and forced arbitration clauses in their Terms of Service, I get the feeling that any attempts at suing OceanGate will be thrown out of court by the waivers each passenger had to sign.
There is a sense of irony in people celebrating this disaster on social media because it means “five less billionaires in the world.” No, this is potentially a massive L for us commoners, because it shows just how much corporate greed can destroy lives. If the rich can be screwed this badly by an unregulated corporation, imagine what corporate giants can do to people who can’t afford lawyers.
Movie pitch - to pay all its lawsuits, OceanGate launches one final desperate mission to the wreck of the San José.
Everyone’s joking here but I’ve owned and used an F710 since 2009 and they are ABSOLUTE CRAP.
I’m not even joking but their range is like 3 feet in the BEST conditions and their USB controller is proprietary and doesn’t even work with OTHER F710s.
Anyone who’s used one for more than a few hours knows this.
Why do I still use mine? Well the hand feel is amazing and the weight is perfect, but everything else is terrible and shouldn’t even be used for gaming.
To be fair it wasn’t used for gaming lol
Just get the F310, like me, and you can enjoy that three foot range without batteries.
Also, WHY DID THE SUB USE THE WIRELESS VERSION WHEN THE WIRED IS CHEAPER AND WIRED?
I think mainly the wireless choice was for aesthetics, they were building experiences for billionaires and those assholes put way to much score in appearance.
I wouldn’t use a wireless controller playing subnautica. This is on the company for using sub par tech. Next time use first party wired!
sub par tech
Nice pun
Logitech has great lawyers. It’s almost guaranteed that there a “this controller’s intended use is only for ____” in their purchase agreement paperwork.
No way is this lawsuit going anywhere
They are not suing Logitech. They’re suing OceanGate and using the controller as an example of poor design and decision making.
This is what happens from only reading the title and making assumptions…
IMO that argument weakens their case. The controller was one of the least problematic things they did. Mechanical controls would have compromised the hull even more, so it was always going to be controlled electronically. I hope the complaint at least offers examples of better options and how those would have had any effect at all on hull integrity.
Is it because everything else on the sub was ordered from aliexpress and pieced together? This was the only part from a legitimate manufacturer?
It’s true, I bought one thinking it was cheaper and easier than a PS5 controller, and my couch imploded.
Yeah but was JD Vance piloting the couch? Because that’s basically a mercy suicide imho.
They couldn’t have splurged for an Xbox controller at least?
