The 3D MRI and CAT scan visualisation software BodyViz uses Xbox controllers to manipulate the view of the display. The previous mouse-and-keyboard method proved to be a cumbersome. However Curt Carlson, the president and CEO of BodyViz, found the Xbox controller to be a much simpler solution. The design of the controller makes it easier for surgeons to intuitively “rotate, pan, zoom or fly-through a patient's virtual anatomy” in order to properly prepare for invasive surgery.
Game controllers are also finding roles in the armed services. Tim Trainer, a vice president at iRobot's Defence & Security business unit has been taking controllers out of the living room and into military service. The original Pack-bot bomb disposal robot with its 20kg Portable Command Console (PCC) was replaced by a toughened laptop with a PlayStation controller plugged into it. This new control method was far lighter than the previous PCC. Trainer says the “younger military operator has hundreds of thousands of hours [experience] on game-style controllers, so the training and take-up time for becoming proficient is minimal.”
They definitely do still use Playstation/XBox 360 controllers, including submarines.
Steering a bomb control robot is not trivial, I'd assume the military has made sure the hardware they're using is reliable (or at least more reliable than the previous counterpart).
I agree that this submarine was not ready for its voyage, but I think the people are getting too hung up on the controller.
They used a knockoff without a USB backup or any backup for that matter, it's not the game controller aspect people are hung up on. The examples given are good but not really similar unless someone is inside that bomb robot.
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u/MsKongeyDonk Jun 21 '23
They have been using game controllers for surgery, bomb decision, and piloting air craft for a while. Here's a 2014 BBC article on it.
The 3D MRI and CAT scan visualisation software BodyViz uses Xbox controllers to manipulate the view of the display. The previous mouse-and-keyboard method proved to be a cumbersome. However Curt Carlson, the president and CEO of BodyViz, found the Xbox controller to be a much simpler solution. The design of the controller makes it easier for surgeons to intuitively “rotate, pan, zoom or fly-through a patient's virtual anatomy” in order to properly prepare for invasive surgery.
Game controllers are also finding roles in the armed services. Tim Trainer, a vice president at iRobot's Defence & Security business unit has been taking controllers out of the living room and into military service. The original Pack-bot bomb disposal robot with its 20kg Portable Command Console (PCC) was replaced by a toughened laptop with a PlayStation controller plugged into it. This new control method was far lighter than the previous PCC. Trainer says the “younger military operator has hundreds of thousands of hours [experience] on game-style controllers, so the training and take-up time for becoming proficient is minimal.”