Ngl it’s all their fault getting in that situation in the first place, but like, there’s a possibility that they are still alive down there, slowly running out of air. Like maybe the tube fucking imploded and they all became a red mist, but they could also just be at the bottom of the ocean floor with no power.
Also, it’s very hard to think of a time when someone dying in a submarine was not funny. The confederates were the first ones to do it, their k:d with submarines is trash. Ze Germans had more success, but leave it to Ze Germans to hit a landmine in the ocean. After WW2 only the USA and USSR had submarines really, and by then they never really had to surface and were practically invincible and invisible. Of course there was a couple L’s for Amerikkka which I celebrate. And the poor the Soviet Union whose submarine deaths are not a laughing matter and I will literally block you if you make any jokes. Of course everything after 1991 until 2022 is cool to make fun of, they could put a swimming pool in a nuclear sub marine but not escape hatches. And the Americans fucking stole it, that’s an L.
Anyways you’re probably a chud if you’re in a submarine so I don’t feel bad for you.
I saw a video on YouTube of the CEO showing off the submarine. Apparently you control the thing with a gamepad. I wish I was joking. No wonder it's crashing and burning. Being inspired by
to design your whacky submarine, you shouldn't be surprised when your controller starts suffering from the dreaded analog stick drift. 
Given that I want to control a (small, much safer) vehicle with a controller of some sort, what should I go for if not traditional controls? (is a buggy for camping supplies and some heavy towing)
The problem with controllers is that they have a small range of physical input, and don't allow for fine enough control in situations where you need to be able to make both very sharp turns and tiny, several-degree adjustments. You also also don't get the same feedback you'd get with traditional controls. I guess, if none of those things are critical, and you'd be using it in a safe environment, then a controller could still be an option.
You can use modifiers though to reduce movement in per movement out, like devices for microscopic surgery. Basically hold the left trigger on the controller for finer controls, software making up for hardware limitations.
if it not working properly won't kill anyone then potential errors are less critical. A controller being simple and intuitive might well still be the best option in your situation
Always use off-the-shelf hardware when possible. You don't need force feedback if you can just watch the thing from the outside, so if that's your use case I think a controller is fine. Suggest you have a physical, easy-to-hit kill switch located on the buggy in case your controller dies.
Are you suggesting that this submarine crashed because the controller broke? Maybe this will lead to my Nintendo switch joysticks not fucking drifting after two months.
Nah it's just best practice from robotics. Battlebots have them, high school robots have them, a run-amok robot could hurt somebody trying to unplug the battery or whatever to disable it. Don't want to speculate on the sub.
Fun fact: Virginia class attack submarines ($2.8bn per boat) use an XBox controller to control their periscopes
See that's a proper 360 controller, this guy used some madkatz lookin shit. No wonder.
Reminds me of the steam deck being used to control a machine gun turret by the Ukrainian army