EFB (Electronic Flight Bags) have introduced all kinds of usability issues with aircraft that pilots must account for, and not just for mechanical reasons. Objects getting jammed into flight controls isn't an ipad phenomenon - clipboards, water bottles, etc all have contributed to mishaps.
One major issue with EFBs is many pilots extensive reliance on them for navigation and traffic avoidance, and their failure in flight since they are commercial off the shelf products. A very common issue during the summer months is for an iPad to very easily overheat and just shut down. Another is battery life. iPads are consumer electronic devices and aren't held to even a semblance of tolerances that aircraft avionics are held to, but they are relied upon as critial tools in flight now.
I've directly seen instances of aircraft that have violated airspace, gotten lost, and other issues that contribute just one more hole to the "swiss cheese" model of a catastrophic loss.
The ill-fated submersible Titan has been routed for its use of consumer grade hardware in displays and controls. I doubt it’s the only vessel to rely on this class of electronics.
I wonder what it means that despite the risks involved these products continue to make it into mission critical workflows at sea and air.
On the USS Indiana you can seem them proudly highlighting the US of an Xbox controller: https://youtu.be/0StWrXoN8nI?t=509 (Also note the insane amount of screens in the control room).
But highlighting the gamepad on the Titan seems like more of a "gotcha" that journalists have latched onto than a legitimate concern. It almost certainly didn't fail because of consumer grade hardware - it failed because of poor engineering of its hull.
Using a witeless gamepad as the primary maneuvering controls of a manned undersea vessel without an onboard backup is one (of very many) indications of reckless corner cutting, but, yes, not particularly likely the critical failure point.
> Carbon fiber’s compression strength is poor. Its shear strength is low. It doesn’t dent; it either splinters or returns to shape and hides severe damage in the laminate.
The Titan had multiple failsafes to drop ballast and return to the surface under its own buoyancy. One such failsafe was time-delayed by material corrosion in seawater so it would eventually ascend without intervention.
The cabin electronics weren't essential to its safety. The hull might have been, though. Hard to say.
One major issue with EFBs is many pilots extensive reliance on them for navigation and traffic avoidance, and their failure in flight since they are commercial off the shelf products. A very common issue during the summer months is for an iPad to very easily overheat and just shut down. Another is battery life. iPads are consumer electronic devices and aren't held to even a semblance of tolerances that aircraft avionics are held to, but they are relied upon as critial tools in flight now.
I've directly seen instances of aircraft that have violated airspace, gotten lost, and other issues that contribute just one more hole to the "swiss cheese" model of a catastrophic loss.