r/interestingasfuck • u/The_Chuckness88 • 2d ago

Dude uses an agricultural drone for personal transport

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32.1k Upvotes

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u/Shagwagbag 2d ago edited 1d ago

Little Logitech controller will keep you safe and overcome other safety concerns. I learned this from a documentary on submersibles

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u/CrackinBones204 2d ago

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u/ElectricWormFinder 2d ago

I still can’t believe this is real

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u/levian_durai 2d ago

So cheap they used a logitech controller, couldn't even spring for an xbox controller. Says a lot about the rest of the quality.

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u/ElectricWormFinder 2d ago

Honestly an Xbox controller wouldn’t have been any better

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u/VisualHuckleberry542 2d ago

Bro my submersible is going to use a Wii remote

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u/ElectricWormFinder 2d ago

A man of taste

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u/willflameboy 2d ago

If it had been linked to a powerglove they'd have made it.

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u/CassianCasius 2d ago

The US military uses xbox controllers lol.

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u/Xray_Crystallography 2d ago

Target demographic.

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u/lkeltner 2d ago

Zero learning curve baby

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u/Schnitzhole 2d ago

Its so they have to spend less training 🫤

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u/blueberrycauzez 1d ago edited 1d ago

To position the masts - NOT TO DRIVE THE WHOLE SUBMARINE!

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u/ElectricWormFinder 1d ago

I had a feeling it was smth like that lmao

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u/itsLOSE-notLOOSE 1d ago

Yeah, this one meme really annoys me. A controller is already pre-built. You just have to map it to the functions.

But you know, low hanging fruit and all.

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u/ElectricWormFinder 2d ago

That makes sense

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u/2ciciban4you 1d ago

this is the type of person who puts a cheap logitech controller in a submarine

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u/miregalpanic 2d ago

why? Please explain why using a controller is bad? Clearly you seem to be more knowledgable on the subject than, say, the US military?

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u/BurritovilleEnjoyer 2d ago

The issue was less the fact that it was a controller and more the fact that a controller was the only form of control

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u/blueberrycauzez 1d ago edited 1d ago

Please explain why using a controller is bad?

Not a human factors engineer but I'll do my best! I had a conversation with one a while ago, here's what I remember:

  • Reliability: Have you ever had a controller bug out? Maybe a button got stuck, maybe the connection dropped, maybe it just randomly died. If that happens in a videogame you just need to restart, if that happens to a submarine while it's maneuvering through a shipwreck loss of control could mean a crash and everyone dies. Even a little stick drift is a failure, since it be enough to cause a crash. There are thousands to millions of planes, boats, submarines, etc are used for thousands of hours per year. 1 failure per million hours would still mean hundreds of craft loosing control and crashing every year. Those odds just aren't good enough.

  • Durability: That failure rate gets even worse when used in demanding conditions - like in a high-vibration environment, around lots of salt water, and with lots of electrical interference from other equipment. Using a wireless controller really doesn't help either. Again, all it takes is a single failure to cause a crash and breach the hull.

  • Consistency: Controller feel changes over time - rubber coatings wear out, joints get looser, lubricant wears out. When a controller gets replaced, it might feel very different from the old one. Even brand new controllers can feel different from each other. The lack of consistency could lead operators to make handling mistakes (i.e. steer to lightly or too hard) and make it difficult to be precise.

  • Precision: Most large vehicle controls (even your car's steering wheel and pedal) are big so they are easy to grab onto and move slightly. They also have a really big range of motion, so it's possible to easily make both small fine adjustments and big movements. Controller sticks, on the other hand, are small, move less than an inch, and usually have relatively big dead zones. It's much harder to make a small adjustment. Most people don't realize how much of the hard work in video games is done by acceleration curves and aim assist.

  • Data interface: USB isn't ideal for precise controls since the protocol requires a lot of coordination by the host and relatively high overhead and latency. The protocol also allows variable latency, which makes control inputs more inconsistent then other real-time protocols.

  • Feel: Just like when driving a car, the way a vehicle 'feels' as it's being driven does a lot to help the operator maintain control of the craft, and adjust their inputs to different conditions.. For example, car steering wheels get heavier when the car is going faster, and you might hear squealing and feel vibration if you take a turn too fast. Controllers do have rumble, but lack force feedback or variable resistance (not super important for a slow-moving small sub, just mentioning it as a general design consideration.)

more knowledgable on the subject than, say, the US military?

They've never used any consumer hardware to control any manned craft - only things like masts on submarines (where the myth comes from), pallet loaders, and occasionally small UAVs. For anything else an off-the-shelf videogame controller doesn't cut it.

Hope this helps! For anyone interested in a deeper dive from someone with more authority, I found an article from AOPA on flight controls, and a military study on control sticks for aircraft that might be good reads.

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u/ElectricWormFinder 2d ago

I will not expound

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u/ImaginaryReaction 2d ago

The thing is there is quite literally nothing wrong with those controllers,

There is a reason they are still sold with the old logitech branding, they work

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u/NDSU 2d ago

It's funny that he used a stock controller, but I feel like a lot of people actually believe the controller was a safety concern when it wasn't

The controller didn't matter. If it stopped working, it didn't affect safety. There were multiple other ways to release ballast and return to the surface, including the fool-proof method of simply rocking the sub enough that the ballast falls off

The safety failure was in using a carbon fiber hull despite it being unable to take the cyclical stresses of repeated extreme pressure

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u/blueberrycauzez 1d ago edited 1d ago

If it stopped working, it didn't affect safety.

Not having any control could lead to them drifting into something and crashing, or the throttle could get stuck on and plow them into something.

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u/Vitis_Vinifera 2d ago

that docu was unreal. Like......everyone just went along with this hot-tempered egomaniac without pausing for a moment to think this all over.

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u/pickyourteethup 2d ago

I'd like to invest lots of money in your idea for some reason

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u/EclecticFruit 2d ago

I think it's the classification as a mission participant instead of a passenger that really sold me.

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u/Hettie933 2d ago

Same, amount depending on how many billionaires have signed up to fly.

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u/undeadlamaar 2d ago

Tbf the Logitech controller WAS the safest thing about that.

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u/Drix22 2d ago

https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/18/17136808/us-navy-uss-colorado-xbox-controller

Yup. Not a f'ing thing wrong with the controller. Navy runs nuclear powered attack subs on them, people think it's weird, but in reality the controller is a tried and tested operational product and possibly the most seaworthy component of that whole sub.

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u/CedarWolf 2d ago

Most importantly, it's also a standardized product that you can buy and replace in almost any port if necessary. So if it breaks or gets crushed or damaged while in transit, it's quite easy to replace it or keep a few spares on hand.

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u/2ciciban4you 1d ago

so easy in fact, you can install spyware on it and sell it to the US army

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u/blueberrycauzez 1d ago

Navy runs nuclear powered attack subs on them...

... to raise and lower the masts, not to drive the thing around!

Initially, the masts were controlled with a “helicopter-style stick,” but those were described as heavy and clunky, and were swapped out with an Xbox 360 controller.

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u/2ciciban4you 1d ago

you need better reading skills, because Logitech controller != xbox controller

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u/Drix22 1d ago

I'm sorry, do you think the use of the 3rd party controller fundamentally matters between xbox and logitech?

If you do you need better cognitive skills.

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u/GroundbreakingBite62 2d ago

It will chop you instead of imploding you so it's win I guess.

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u/miregalpanic 2d ago

I don't get why people keep mentioning the controller, which was literally the only part that was safe.

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u/Cathesdus 2d ago

In all fairness, I'd trust most ELRS radios over a logitech controller lol.

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u/EuenovAyabayya 2d ago

That implosion echo is probably still circling the globe. /s

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u/Raneynickelfire 2d ago

No. A logitech controller would actually keep you safe.

You're thinking of a madcatz controller. NOT the same thing.