Navy plans to use Xbox controllers to control submarine periscopes
![779f7913-Xbox 360 Controller 2_1505861880614-401720.jpg](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox5atlanta.com/www.fox5atlanta.com/content/uploads/2019/09/764/432/Xbox360Controller2_1505861880614_4183043_ver1.0_640_360.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
(Photo: Microsoft)
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The U.S. Navy plans to use Xbox 360 controllers to operate periscopes aboard its newer submarines.
The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Virginia, reported Saturday that the Navy's Virginia-class subs don't have a traditional rotating periscope. They're being replaced by high-resolution cameras and large monitors.
They can be controlled by a helicopter-style stick. But the Navy plans to integrate an X-box controller into the system because they're more familiar to younger sailors and require less training.
They're also cheaper. A controller typically costs less than $30 compared to the $38,000 cost of a photonic mast handgrip and imaging control panel.
The Xbox controller will be included as part of the integrated imaging system for Virginia-class subs beginning with the future USS Colorado. It is supposed to be commissioned by November.
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Information from: The Virginian-Pilot, http://pilotonline.com