Missing Titan tourist submersible was piloted using a modified Logitech controller

This past weekend, a tourist sub with five people disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean. While on an excursion to the sunken Titanic remains, the vessel went missing. Since that time, it’s been reportedly using a modded Logitech gamepad.

The excursion began on Sunday, embarking from St. John’s, Newfoundland. The submersible is called the ‘Titan’. It lost contact with its mother ship approximately two hours later 700 km south of the city.

OceanGate Expeditions is the company in charge of Titan’s underwater excursions. The company claims Titan is able to stow around five people. The Titan submersible also has a number of displays and camera equipment. It’s considered a submersible as it doesn’t have enough power to descend from the port and return on its own. Instead, its mother ship has to retrieve it to safety.

In an interview with CBS, OceanGate Expeditions CEO Stockton Rush explains that the submersible is controlled by a Logitech controller. “We run the whole thing with this game controller,” Rush states while showing CBS what looks to be an F710 gamepad. 

As explained, the Logitech controller is modded with “off-the-shelf” components. Details on how the controller is modified aren’t outlined. However, the thumbsticks have clearly been replaced.

On top of the use of the Logitech controller, the Titan was clearly an experimental vessel using a variety of other questionable engineering tactics. For instance, one of the interior lights was bought from CamerWorld, a recreational vehicle company, admitted Rush. 

OceanGate claims it worked with NASA, Boeing, and others to help create the vessel, ensuring it was able to pair “ground-breaking engineering and off-the-shelf technology.”

Unfortunately, the lost vessel is still being looked for by the US Coast Guard. “Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families,” OceanGate has said in a statement. At the time of the disappearance, the sub had up to 96 hours of oxygen. 

OceanGate Expeditions reportedly charges tourists anywhere from $100,000 USD (around $132,541 CAD) to $150,000 USD (roughly $198,812 CAD) when annual voyages first began in 2021. 

Image credit: OceanGate Expeditions

Source: Insider