Thread by @hellyeahcorks

Okay, so let's talk about this, bc everyone is acting like this is some kind of clue that the vehicle was doomed from the getgo. Brief thread here.

https://twitter.com/Pizza__Dad/status/1670943490006564864

You can't just *buy* submersible systems off the shelf. Most research submersible systems are built ✨by the org that owns the vehicle✨ The presence of a video game controller is not the "gotcha" everyone thinks it is.

Guess what? #HOVAlvin is driven with a very basic joystick. #ROVJason is driven with a joystick. The Japanese ROV Kaiko is driven with a joystick.

The fact that these guys are using a game controller isn't this weird thing folks are making it out to be.

How do I know they use joysticks? Well I've driven Alvin and Jason at the seafloor and sailed with other vehicles that use joysticks (literally all of them). My partner is also a former Alvin pilot.

(I mean, I have major issues with how this thing is constructed and functions on a safety level, but how they're controlling the propulsion system likely isn't the boondoggle here. Bf and I both saw a photo of the thing and said he'll no way would we ever get in it)

Here's some nice simple tech (old 4500 m sphere on left, new 6500 m sphere on right). Toggle switches! A joystick to drive (which is what I'm doing on the right)!

I'm muting this thread bc my notifications are overloaded, but if you learned even the teeniest thing about the #deepsea & how we work in this extreme environment, I'd encourage you to check out this thread for more ways to interact with ocean scientists!

https://twitter.com/hellyeahcorks/status/1671226311950622720?t=Pnqf5vLsmM1g3qgLC3vmjg&s=19