14 DAY TRIAL // The US Navy has started using Xbox 360 controllers for periscope operations, and it's aiming to replace a much more expensive solution developed specifically for this task.
It might seem like a weird solution for the US Navy, for two reasons. People might think that either it can’t be complex enough to replace the already existing solution, or that it might not be as efficient. The truth is that it’s actually better than what submarines already have installed, but there is a deeper reason at play.
We have to remember that the US Navy crewmen are usually young people, and they probably played games already using a gamepad. Even if someone never played a game in his life, which is highly unlikely, the gamepads are designed to be used by anyone and with ease.
Controllers are still sold around the world
The Xbox 360 controller was a very reliable gamepad, and very sturdy built with high-quality materials. It’s no longer in production, which might seem like a problem, but Microsoft made a lot of them, and they are already available all over the world.
The controller is now being tested in Virginia-class submarines that have a periscope with mounted digital cameras. Long gone are the days of manually operated periscopes that could only be used by one man.
The present solution is a $38,000 joystick that looks and handles pretty much like the ones in helicopters. Needleless to say, it takes many hours to train a single person to operate it. On the other hand, the Xbox 360 controller is really cheap, with a price tag of under $40 and people only need a few minutes to figure out how it’s operated.
According to a report on The Virginian-Pilot, both the Lockheed Martin and the US Navy are trying to figure out what other commercial hardware can be integrated. This would allow for much lower costs, both for hardware and for training people.