Posted on 09/19/2017 2:43:55 PM PDT by PROCON
The cost of an Xbox 360 controller is significantly less than the joystick previously used to control the submarine periscope. (Lockheed Martin Photo)
OK, so my 10-year-old kid could board an advanced U.S. Navy submarine and operate the periscope? That seems to be the pretty cool assumption based on the fact that sailors are now using Xbox 360 controllers to perform functions aboard some vessels.
The Virginian-Pilot newspaper reported that the Microsoft game-console controllers have replaced the helicopter-style stick used to control the periscope on Virginia-class submarines.
The periscope itself is not the rotating tube most people think of thanks to Hollywood movies. Nowadays, the Pilot reported, subs are equipped with two photonics masts that rotate 360 degrees. High-resolution cameras send back images that are displayed on large monitors that everyone in the control room can see.
“The Navy got together and they asked a bunch of J.O.s and junior guys, ‘What can we do to make your life better?'” said Lt. j.g. Kyle Leonard, the USS John Warner’s assistant weapons officer. “And one of the things that came out is the controls for the scope. It’s kind of clunky in your hand; it’s real heavy.”
(Excerpt) Read more at geekwire.com ...
I wonder if there's a video game blocker in the software to discourage goofing off.
Someone's ass is gonna be in a serious sling !
Yep, McLame is NOT going to be happy about stepping out of the game box on this one.
Now that’s thinking outside the XBox!................
When I was in the Air Force a supply run to the Government Contractors we had to pay $17 for a pack of pens!
By the time they get their hands on it, how much FREE training have the kids already had..?
5,000 hours..?
Maybe more.
I hope they keep a box of back ups. The buttons get clogged up and sticky in short order.
For anyone wondering: Technically speaking, a “bunch of J.O.s” refers to junior officers. (Any enlisted man, though, can tell you they’re probably what you were thinking.)
Yeah, someone at Microsoft! They could've "locked" the controller and charged the Navy a fortune to unlock it.
Yeah, someone at Microsoft! They could've "locked" the controller and charged the Navy a fortune to unlock it.
Considering that you can buy 12 thousand for the cost of the part they are replacing, a spare case or two should be simple to get and storing it should not be much harder.
Why not more stuff in our subs that are made in China ?
Sure.
They should have put the bid out to make these things by an american company (They exist.. they are actually metal and quite sturdy) and sell for more - but $50 instead of this supposed $38,000 is still a win.
Why not more stuff in our subs that are made in China ?
Sure.
They should have put the bid out to make these things by an american company (They exist.. they are actually metal and quite sturdy) and sell for more - but $50 instead of this supposed $38,000 is still a win.
“Ummmmmm.....Captain?”
“Yes. What is it?”
“Well, me and Schmedlap thought we were playing Mario Party but I guess we kind of launched a nuclear missile instead.”
“You idiots!”
“Does this mean we won’t get any golden coins?”
“I wonder if there’s a video game blocker in the software to discourage goofing off.”
Maybe in the new Navy playing a video game might be considered practice.
Being of an older age and a dimming of the lights, I know what you’re saying.
It’s just the controller. The game box is different.
Static resistance? Over-voltage protection? Drop resistance? Sealed against salt water? Operation in an explosive atmosphere in case of fuel or solvent leak? Much of the price of defense equipment isn’t to get it to work on a nice day, but to make sure it still works when things have gone horribly wrong.
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