Army fly UAV Spy Plane with Xbox 360 Controller
November 4th, 2007 by Paul Maunders
I was just watching an Army Jobs advert on Channel 4, and it showed them piloting an unmanned aerial vehicle with an Xbox 360 controller.
I wondered whether this was just for TV, but it seems that US marines have also been spotted controlling an SUGVs (small unmanned ground vehicle) with an XBox controller.
It would make a lot of sense as the XBox 360 controller:
- Uses a common USB interface
- Has drivers available for Windows, OS X and Linux
- Has been extensively tested by millions of gamers
- Is perhaps one of the greatest game controllers ever built
So why reinvent the wheel? You can see the full advert below…
Update 29th April 2008
I wrote to Army under the Freedom of Information act to find out if it really was an XBOX controller, and here is their reply.
Headquarters Army Recruiting and Training Division Trenchard Lines Upavon Pewsey Wiltshire SN9 6BE Telephone: 01980 615065 Facsimile: 01980 615078 D/ARTD/1/3/12/1 75017 29 April 2008 Mr P Manders Dear Mr Manders, Thank you for your email of 8 April to the Ministry of Defence regarding an Army Recruitment Video. I have been asked to reply. The highly sophisticated mini Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) shown in the advert is the Desert Hawk 3 which is currently deployed on operations in Iraq. Desert Hawk 3 is a portable UAV surveillance system which provides aerial video reconnaissance. The equipment can be used for a variety of tasks, such as force protection for convoys and patrols, route clearance, base security, reconnaissance or target tracking. The system used to control the planes has been adapted by Lockheed Martin and although the controller used by the soldiers to fly the plane is very similar to a Microsoft Xbox 360 controller, it is not the same. You will see that there is no Microsoft wording on the controller nor a wired headset port. The advert demonstrates that the skills and abilities that an individual develops in their life prior to joining the Army may have a critical application within the British Army on operations today. I hope this is helpful. Yours Sincerely Jodie C Spreadbury
Posted in gadgets
November 9th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
pure genious, all me maes said it was bullshit that the army would use a xbox 360 controll but i had faith and it is real
January 2nd, 2008 at 2:40 pm
this is so cool, i am 13 i was born in 1994 i would like to be in the army when i am older and be part of the spy plane team
March 8th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
It’s not true. It’s subliminal messaging used to recruit youths, And by the looks of the kid above, it’s worked a treat.
March 22nd, 2008 at 10:07 pm
I agree with 3, it’s worked well, and i think it’s sick.
April 6th, 2008 at 11:09 am
From a financial and operations perspective I think that using a tried and tested device, such as the xbox 360 controller, would be more beneficial. Whether the army actually uses this device to control UAVs is another question.
First of all it would cost a lot more to outsource the research, testing and production of a HID (human interface device) from scratch.
All they need here is a programmer to create software which would recognise the input signals from the buttons of the £30 controller.
I guess the army also hope that the controller would be a device which prospective recruits would be familiar with - which would mean less time spent training (which costs a lot money).
I personally do not believe that the message was subliminal - if it were, it would have been a little less obvious and not a blatent shot of someone using an xbox 360 controller.
April 8th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
I just phoned the Army press office, and the guy I spoke to told me that he thought it was unlikely that they would be able to use an xbox controller to control the spy plane as it is “a pretty complicated piece of kit”.
http://www.army.mod.uk/presscentre/office/index.htm
He wasn’t able to give me an exact answer as apparently this information is classified. Anyone care to file a freedom of information act request?
April 29th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
So as you can see from the update I have made to this post, the Army have now replied to me and clarified that although the controller used by them to fly the plane is very similar to an Xbox 360 controller, it is not quite the same, but it is the real controller that you see in the advert.
April 29th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
[...] I received a reply from the Army Recruiting and Training Division. You can see my original post for the full response, but in summary it confirmed the following [...]