Titan submersible tragedy puts spotlight on gaming controllers: They aren’t all that bad, here’s why

The Logitech G F710 Wireless Gamepad. (Image: Logitech)

Yet despite the flak the Logitech G F710 received, using video game hardware for purposes like these makes perfect sense. Gaming controllers are already being widely used across various fields in different applications, such as robots, laser weapons, drones, and even medtech.

In this article, we explore some of the innovative ways that gaming controllers are being used.

Bomb disposal

IEDs or improvised explosive devices are one of the top apparatus employed by militants against forces, particularly in Afghanistan. Defusing these devices is risky business, especially since they can go off at any moment, so bomb disposal teams tend to send a bot to run an inspection first. These bots are often operated by controllers owing to their intelligent and ergonomic designs, which are a mainstay today due to the growing complexity of videogames.

The iRobot 310 SUGV was operated using Xbox controllers. (Image: iRobot)

In 2013, a military partnership with Roomba-maker iRobot led to a line of bomb-disposal robots operated by an Xbox controller. The company said that the Xbox controller was more familiar and intuitive for younger soldiers than the original puck-like controller. And in 2011, a US Army explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) technician assigned to the 25th Infantry Division used an Xbox 360 controller to operate a Pacbot 310 robot in Afghanistan. The robot had a wireless camera that allowed the operator to see what the robot saw and dispose of bombs safely.

Military training and vehicles

Given their cost-effectiveness and how easy it is to learn to use a controller – as opposed to clunky dedicated hardware for the same use – militaries in the West are increasingly relying on them. The US Air Force is known for using video game controllers in virtual simulators, while the US Army uses them in the Stryker Virtual Collective Trainer – a simulator for training platoons of Stryker armoured vehicle crews.

Using an Xbox controller to operate the photonic mast aboard a Virginia-class submarine. (Image: Lockheed Martin)

Even submarines use Xbox controllers in some cases. Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines use them to operate their photonic mast, a digital device that replaces the traditional periscope with day/night cameras and video recorders. Similarly, the British Army experimented with remote-controlled ATVs using Xbox controllers in 2017.

Medtech

While not manufactured by Microsoft, Sony, or Logitech, several controllers being presently used in medtech strongly resemble gaming equipment. A fine example is the Monarch Platform, a new flexible endoscopy robot, designed to reach places that are otherwise quite difficult to get to. Doctors control this bot using video game-style controllers. Once inside a patient, the robot can record images and potentially make physical interventions. The bot has already cleared the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and one day hopes to help treat diseases like lung cancer.

Xbox controllers are also used to train medical students through virtual surgery. For instance, the 3D MRI and CAT scan visualisation software BodyViz used Xbox controllers to manipulate the view of its display, replacing the previously employed mouse-and-keyboard method, which proved to be cumbersome.

Space

A Guardian report from 2014 showed that NASA is exploring the use of game controllers to operate robots and spacecraft. The agency, which already uses modified game controllers in testing robots on Earth, was considering the use of reworked game controllers to operate contraptions elsewhere in the solar system. While we are yet to see any real-world application of this kind to date, likely due to the sheer complexity of spacecraft, it’s not unsafe to imagine a future where video game controllers take us to Mars and beyond.