Beyond the Missing Titanic Submarine, Handheld Gamepads Are a Common Military Interface
Beyond the Missing Titanic Submarine, Handheld Gamepads Are a Common Military Interface
Enlarge / Senior Airman Ryan Hoagland operates an explosive ordnance disposal robot using an Xbox controller 360.
U.S. Air Force/Flickr
The tragic disappearance this weekend of an OceanGate Expeditions tourist submersible has led to a fair amount of bewildered coverage focused on the company's apparent use of a $30 Logitech F710 wireless PC game controller for its interface. But OceanGate is far from the first team to use off-the-shelf or slightly modified gaming control hardware to power expensive heavy machinery far outside the realm of gaming.
MRI scan company BodyViz, for example, told the BBC that an Xbox controller offers a much more intuitive way to "rotate, pan, zoom or hover over a patient's virtual anatomy" than the previously standard mouse and keyboard interface. And NASA has used an Xbox Kinect as an interface to control complex rovers like the six-limbed ATHLETE (All-Terrain Hex-Limbed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer).
But international militaries have shown one of the most ardent and continuing interest in adapting game control interfaces for decidedly non-entertainment related uses. In 2014, the US Navy was promoting its use of a "video game-like controller" in a prototype laser weapon, for example. And in 2018, the USS Colorado attack submarine was handing Navy sailors an Xbox controller to operate its periscope-style photonic masts.
Game controllers are also useful for remotely controlling complex military equipment in situations that could be dangerous for a human pilot on site. In the UK, an "Adapted Xbox Controller" was used to remotely drive an off-road 4x4 in situations where Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were a problem. And a military partnership with Roomba maker iRobot has led to a line of mine-clearing robots controlled by an Xbox controller.
A familiar and inexpensive control solution
One of the main advantages of these adapted game control systems, according to those involved in their implementation, is user familiarity. iRobot's North American product manager, Tom Phelps, told Business Insider in 2013 that they had found great success replacing the original "puck-shaped controller" in their IED disposal robot with the more familiar design of a standard Xbox controller.
"In 2006, games like Halo dominated the military," Phelps said. "So we worked with the army to socialize and standardize the concept... It was considered a very big success, young soldiers with a lot of gaming experience were able to adapt quickly."
Military users who are presented with a familiar gamepad “are much more inclined to experiment, they are much less afraid of technology…it comes naturally to them,” Israeli Col. Udi Tzur told The Washington Post at About a tank controlled by an Xbox Controller. "It's not exactly like playing Fortnite, but something like that, and amazingly, they bring their skills to operational efficiency in no time."
“They know exactly where these buttons are and they can achieve much better performance with this system,” Meir Shabtai, Managing Director of IAI Robotics...
Enlarge / Senior Airman Ryan Hoagland operates an explosive ordnance disposal robot using an Xbox controller 360.
U.S. Air Force/Flickr
The tragic disappearance this weekend of an OceanGate Expeditions tourist submersible has led to a fair amount of bewildered coverage focused on the company's apparent use of a $30 Logitech F710 wireless PC game controller for its interface. But OceanGate is far from the first team to use off-the-shelf or slightly modified gaming control hardware to power expensive heavy machinery far outside the realm of gaming.
MRI scan company BodyViz, for example, told the BBC that an Xbox controller offers a much more intuitive way to "rotate, pan, zoom or hover over a patient's virtual anatomy" than the previously standard mouse and keyboard interface. And NASA has used an Xbox Kinect as an interface to control complex rovers like the six-limbed ATHLETE (All-Terrain Hex-Limbed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer).
But international militaries have shown one of the most ardent and continuing interest in adapting game control interfaces for decidedly non-entertainment related uses. In 2014, the US Navy was promoting its use of a "video game-like controller" in a prototype laser weapon, for example. And in 2018, the USS Colorado attack submarine was handing Navy sailors an Xbox controller to operate its periscope-style photonic masts.
Game controllers are also useful for remotely controlling complex military equipment in situations that could be dangerous for a human pilot on site. In the UK, an "Adapted Xbox Controller" was used to remotely drive an off-road 4x4 in situations where Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were a problem. And a military partnership with Roomba maker iRobot has led to a line of mine-clearing robots controlled by an Xbox controller.
A familiar and inexpensive control solution
One of the main advantages of these adapted game control systems, according to those involved in their implementation, is user familiarity. iRobot's North American product manager, Tom Phelps, told Business Insider in 2013 that they had found great success replacing the original "puck-shaped controller" in their IED disposal robot with the more familiar design of a standard Xbox controller.
"In 2006, games like Halo dominated the military," Phelps said. "So we worked with the army to socialize and standardize the concept... It was considered a very big success, young soldiers with a lot of gaming experience were able to adapt quickly."
Military users who are presented with a familiar gamepad “are much more inclined to experiment, they are much less afraid of technology…it comes naturally to them,” Israeli Col. Udi Tzur told The Washington Post at About a tank controlled by an Xbox Controller. "It's not exactly like playing Fortnite, but something like that, and amazingly, they bring their skills to operational efficiency in no time."
“They know exactly where these buttons are and they can achieve much better performance with this system,” Meir Shabtai, Managing Director of IAI Robotics...
Enlarge / Senior Airman Ryan Hoagland operates an explosive ordnance disposal robot using an Xbox controller 360.
U.S. Air Force/Flickr
The tragic disappearance this weekend of an OceanGate Expeditions tourist submersible has led to a fair amount of bewildered coverage focused on the company's apparent use of a $30 Logitech F710 wireless PC game controller for its interface. But OceanGate is far from the first team to use off-the-shelf or slightly modified gaming control hardware to power expensive heavy machinery far outside the realm of gaming.
