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https://www.engadget.com/2017-09-19-us-navy-high-tech-submarine-xbox-controller.html
Granted the evaluated this for periscope controls not steering but still. The leap isn't huge and if you got some backup options that's probably a pretty sensible path to take.
The x-box controller has a much higher build quality and uses xinput so there is far less likely to be software issues.
So is everyone else thinking they accidentally fucking plowed into the Titanic because a controller input got stuck?
Pretty unlikely. It's easy to dunk on them for the controller, but they apparently carried backups, and it's nowhere near the most concerning thing about their operations. It's much more likely that their extremely brittle carbon-fiber hull fatigued (again), their homegrown acoustic fatigue detection system didn't detect it (or it did and they ignored it), and the ship was crushed in a fraction of a second.
That or lost connection/battery.
The only wireless controller I ever owned would continue any repeating input active when connection dropped, if batteries or wifi died; they could just be cruising at max speed off in whatever direction they were facing, until the motor batteries run dry.
You'd like to think they'd carry backup interface, or even just use a wired controller, but this whole op sounds pretty McGuyver top to bottom.