The disappearance without trace of Titan, a submarine that transported tourists to the final remains of the Titanic, is one of the most talked about news today. The group of millionaires was heading to the ship’s burial site when, suddenly, the bases stopped receiving communication. However, although the mission of this ship is quite ambitious, it seems that the technology used to execute it is not so advanced. In fact, reports say they control Titan with a nearly 20-year-old Logitech video game controller.
The first confirmations of the main controller used aboard the Titan have left the site of Twitter. In a video uploaded to the social network you can see the shape and buttons of the Logitech F710, a wireless controller released in 2005 for computers. Of course, it seems that OceanGate Expeditions, the company behind the mission, made some modifications. Among them, it is observed that they replaced the levers, which they specifically adapted to maneuver in the remains of the Titanic.
Despite having been released almost twenty years ago, the Logitech F710 controller used to control the Titan costs €39.99 on amazon. Of course, some buyers warn of sudden disconnections when playing.
While it’s a solid and inexpensive device for gaming, the Logitech F710 hardly a gadget you want to spend your life on. However, it is not unusual for game controllers to be used to control expensive technology in the real world. In addition to the Titan submarine, a notorious case is the use of Xbox controllers by the United States Army. After all, they are designed to be used for long periods of time and offer high precision.
More details about the disappearance of Titan, the tourist submarine whose mission is to explore the remains of the Titanic
Right now, the US and Canadian Coast Guards are in a frantic search for the Titan submarine. Today, after leaving for the wreck of the Titanic, lost communication a few hours after its start-up. Since then, it was reported as overdue almost immediately. It is estimated that it has air reserves for a 96-hour dive.
We estimate that at this moment we have a time frame that goes from 70 to 96 hours.
John Mauger of the United States Coast Guard
For its part, Titan is a deep-sea vessel. This means that she cannot dive and come back by herself, both actions are left to another ship. In this case, the Canadian research vessel Polar Prince. Nevertheless, almost two hours after launching towards the wreck of the Titanic, the ship lost contact with the submarine.
Inside the Titan there are five people, including Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate, the company in charge of operating the vessel. Likewise, the British billionaire Hamish Harding, the Pakistani businessmen Shahzada Dawood, along with her son Suleman, and the French explorer Paul Henry Nargeolet are added.
The costs of each seat on the Titan was around $250,000 per person. Once the amount was paid, tourists ensured a round trip to the wreck of the Titanic, the most famous cruise ship in history.
According to the company’s website, OceanGate had planned an eight-day, seven-night expedition to the Titanic, scheduled for June 12-20. The company is not new to the area. Since 2021 they have operated to transport 60 paying customersand between 15 and 20 researchers, to the area of the shipwreck.