The Titan Sub - An Engineer's Hot Takes
I know this is the millionth Titan Sub post but I honestly have to throw my thoughts in the mix because it's my area of expertise
I'm an engineer, and I've got experience with...
System safety engineering for exactly this kind of "move fast break things" startup. And dealing with the "personalities" you meet there lol
Safe and reliable controls for robotic systems
Life-critical roboticized vehicles
Plus my dad's a submariner and took me on sooo many submarine tours when I was young, explaining the system design principles.
And if you thought that Titan Sub was negligent? Yeah. Fuckin horrifically so, to be honest. I've seen some scary shit in my career, to the point where I've quit a job over it. I've got friends and colleagues who've done the same. And this? Worse than any of that.
Most times I've seen a big safety issue? You can tell the company was trying, and there was one thing they missed or didn't understand. Maybe two. But here? There's just so much wrong. But to name a few things:
"It's got one button. And that's it."
See a difference between that and a real submarine control room? A couple hundred extra buttons? Those are pretty important.
In well-designed submarines, there's redundancy - multiple ways to do any essential submarine-control task. I've heard at least 3 is industry standard for submarines, where the loss of an essential function will be deadly. It's even common to have multiple control rooms!
And the mechanical & electrical bits that make those 3 options possible? They're physically separated so that if something like a fire damages one? The other two will be fine.
And for any high-level task, that is broken into multiple smaller ones? There are controls to accomplish each small sub-function individually in case of emergency.
One button? One? ONE? I literally thought that was satire when I first saw it. For fucks sake.
"So we run the sub with this game controller"
You've probably heard about this one.
But using a game controller for robotic applications, even safety critical ones, isn't unusual! Though it usually takes a multi-million dollar engineering effort to make a system that uses them reliable for a safety function. Exhaustively going through every possible way it could malfunction, and finding a way to address each and every failure mode.
I'd be surprised if they did that - they look like they're violating a few best practices.
First, a wired connection is standard, because it's less likely to drop. Titan's off-the-shelf Logitech controller was using 2.4 GHz WIRELESS tech. It's not impossible to do safety critical communication wirelessly, but that involves specialized safety-rated radio equipment. Just taking a look at what I believe are Logitech's specs for their 2.4 GHz wireless stuff... Uh oh. This ain't it.
Using the same frequency band as Bluetooth and Wifi? Like other devices might be using, and creating interference in that band? I'm reminded of a railway radio failure I saw, where a manufacturer's radio frequency band overlapped with a country's cell signal band. The trains would shut down on major holidays because the airwaves were overwhelmed! Luckily they were engineered well enough to just stop in place, not crash.
That's... Also bad. For safety-critical controls, you want to send the signal right away. TDMA means "Time Division Multiple Access" - AKA "Every user takes turns (time division) so we all can use the same airwaves (multiple access)"
You don't want YOUR FUCKIN SUBMARINE CONTROLS taking turns with anything. They need a dedicated and reliable communication channel. Another safety engineering principle? Isolate your important shit from your unimportant shit. That way your unimportant shit can't fuck with your important shit.
This Whole Damn Lawsuit (pdf link)
This is a lawsuit about the company firing an employee for raising safety concerns. Really valid safety concerns, IMO.
This guy seems really qualified. I'd trust his assessments.
Acoustic monitoring for the kinds of sounds that usually only come shortly before a catastrophic failure? Great - they basically made a "You're going to die now" bell. Too little, too late. Lochridge was right - the hull needs to be tested beforehand!
And flaws in the carbon fibre hull material? A famously brittle material? That isn't generally used for pressure vessels? And they kept on using that instead of any of the industry standard materials?
Invisible or barely visible tears might not seem like a big thing, but they're scary to an engineer! They're often the warning alarm that your material isn't holding up and is losing structural integrity.
I just don't understand the choice of carbon fibre at all - For a vessel subject to high forces, you'd want a material that allows for "elastic deformation" - or the ability to "spring back" to shape instead of break. For example, metal, which is what every submarine I've ever seen is made of. "Carbon-reinforced plastic collapses "catastrophically", says Professor Brizzolara."This is because the material is not ductile like metal alloys and therefore it 'catastrophically' implodes."
Out of everything here - this terrifies me the most. I have no words.
Ok, I do have some... It's bleak when "hazardous flammable materials in a submersible" is the least worrying thing on a page.
As for the viewport window, there's this thing called a factor of safety. When you engineer something, you don't just make it strong enough, you make it several times stronger than you think it needs to be.
How many times stronger depends on the industry and application. "Pressure vessels use [a factor of safety of] 3.5 to 4.0, automobiles use 3.0, and aircraft and spacecraft use 1.2 to 3.0 depending on the application"
PRESSURE VESSELS USE 3.5 TO 4.0. That window, going 4000m deep? Should have been rated to 14,000 meters at least. They went with 1,300!?!?! That's UNDER ONE TENTH of what it should have been. And I'm not sure if it was ever replaced.
[Correction - Assuming the manufacturer of the window added in an appropriate factor of safety themselves when rating their part - which is a reasonable assumption to make - OceanGate was "only" at around 1/3 of the reccomended strength - not around 1/10th of it. Still not OK lol!]
Fuck anyone who doesn't realize safety standards are written in blood.
And I mean that very literally - In the US, safety regulation almost never gets enacted until people die, and those deaths are proven in court, beyond a reasonable doubt, to be due to corporate negligence. Sometimes a lot of people have to die before that standard of proof is met, as companies will dodge culpability for as long as possible. It's one of the ugliest truths about my industry. And for a company to ignore those regulations that came at the cost of people's lives? I'd say they have blood on their hands.
Yeah, in my professional opinion, fuck these guys. They fired their safety guy for doing his job, they didn't work with the certification agency. I hope they're held responsible.
Loooong story short?
I'm genuinely having trouble finding much this company did that wasn't horrifyingly negligent. I'm ending the examples here, but honestly I could keep going.
It's fuckin terrifying they were allowed to do this in the first place. And while I kinda get the "lol rip billionaires" reaction - A company should never be allowed to put people's lives at risk like this. Because if engineering negligence can kill billionaires? It sure as hell can kill any of us with far fewer consequences and far less media attention.
The warning signs were there for years before the accident, and that's the saddest part to me. This was so easily avoidable.
I feel for the guy who tried to warn people - it's a nightmare situation, to fear something you worked with is dangerous, and see your employer (or ex employer) go ahead with it anyway.
What do I figure happened, in the end?
My top guess is a hull failure, resulting from repeated stress of compression and decompression of the carbon fibre material, leading to internal tears or fractures that compromised it's structural integrity, and resulted in a sudden and catastrophic implosion. (An implosion is the opposite of an explosion - it is when something very quickly collapses in on itself, like a can being crushed. Deep underwater, the high pressure of all the water above can cause an implosion.)
Second guess? That window, if they never changed it, could have failed. Same sudden implosion in the end. But I'm waiting for a forensic accident report to say for sure.
Other Posts:
Part 1 - Systems-Engineering Negligence
Part 2 - Human-Factors Negligence
Part 3 - Corporate Negligence
Part 4 - Detailed Timeline & Technical Breakdown of Disaster
Ask: How a small submarine can be done right
legal disclaimer below the cut.
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author's employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.
This text is for entertainment purposes only, and is not meant to be referenced for legal, business, or investment purposes.
This text is based on publically available information, sources may contain factual errors. The analysis provided in this text may contain factual errors, miscalculations, or misunderstandings.
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Friendlocke Violet Gijinkas (Part 1/7)
Since the edited episodes are starting to come out, I figured that bc of that and the fact that I've been keeping this in the back burner for a loooong while now, might as well complete all my friendlocke violet gijinkas!! Some are gonna stay the same while others are gonna have slight/ complete redesigns, so please keep that in mind!
I plan on posting them in order by groups of three, so there's gonna be seven parts in total, all of which I'll be linking here when done vvv
(Part Two) (Part Three) (Part Four) (Part Five) (Part Six) (Part Seven)
!! These will contain personal headcanons I have for the cast, little fun facts, and also spoilers for Friendlocke Violet (for both the edited vids and the streams) !!
@saltydkart-reblogs
And that's pretty much it, designs under the cut!
LARK:
HUGE nerd. spent most of his time during the Uva Academy studying different kinds of pokemon as well as different fighting styles he can utilize once he is able to go out on his own journey with his very own trainer! Too bad that didn't really help in the long run...
His entire wardrobe consists of McDonald's related outfits. It's fucking insane. He even has some from long LONG ago that aren't available anywhere else.
The bubble pattern on his hair is able to move and change. Nobody knows how this is possible, not even Lark himself. All Lark knows is that his hair looks incredibly stylish!
Speaking of bubbles, he has the ability to blow bubbles whenever and wherever he pleases!
Often keeps himself extremely clean and gets upset if even a small speck of dirt gets on him, despite this he somehow smells like McDonald's food and axe body spray. Disgusting. He's so cool!
Even after death he still likes to hang around the other team members as a ghost, often getting to know the newer members as well as reuniting with the old ones. Sometimes they see him, sometimes they don't. It usually depends.
SARA:
Due to being a human in her past life, Sara is able to actually speak with the other humans in the pokemon world. However she usually doesn't due to it being seen as extremely weird and out of place. She did slip up once while talking in the presence of Arven, who thought it was the weed making him hear things.
Oinkologne are usually unable to do much with their hooves but Sara spent nights practicing how to knit with her new hooves and now she's able to do it flawlessly. I don't know how she managed to do that but go queen!
When first joining the team she'd often have the urge to eat her food related companions. It was a strange time for Sara, but she managed to overcome it.
When Peppy gets sick, she usually is the one who nurses him back to health. She was a human once so she often is able to figure out whatever sickness Peppy has and treat it properly. I suppose she's like a second mother to him.
The bag she carries with her is full of thread that she collected from various Tarountula she encountered on the journey, as well as little things she knits together in her spare time.
For the most part, Sara forgives... but NEVER forgets.
Did you guys know that Sara has a new YouTube channel? Check it out!
Pastey:
Before joining the team, Pastey was a nameless wanderer. He's been down every road in Paldea and knows almost the entire region (except for Area Zero) like the back of his hand.
He's gotten hurt pretty badly throughout the run (ie. the Mikey fight, the Atticus fight, and ESPECIALLY the final battle), however, he does not gain any (physical) scars from those fights. This is bc he's basically an axolotl, and axolotls are usually able to heal without scarring.
Pastey's "arms" are, to put it simply, mud prosthetics. More info here vvv
Pastey HAS met Mall Bingo once before the run, however, he doesn't recognize her. The only reason he does not recognize her is bc she wears glasses. (You know how people somehow aren't able to recognize Superman bc he wears glasses in his civilian attire even tho his face remains the same? It's basically like that lmao)
Unlike the lightbulbs he eats, the gasoline he drinks isn't really mandatory to his diet. Gasoline is like alcohol to him and he drinks it like an absolute CHAMP.
He goes fishing when there's nothing else to do or when he can't sleep at night. He doesn't do this bc he thinks it's fun or anything, only bc it's a "good time passer" or so he claims. Other members of the team will often sit with him and vent out anything that's troubling them at the moment, and Pastey is always there to listen to them.
And that's pretty much it. Next is Joe, Hannah Ü, and Mykyie!
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I wonder why each little bird has someone to sing to, sweet things to, a gay little love melody (*´∀`)♪🎶
This drawing is a little celebration for Crowley’s card that will be dropping soon on the 19th! The lyric above is from Sleeping Beauty 🎶 Crowley and Lilia give me the vibes of those older couples who always like to dance or sing along to music, no matter how bad or good they may be at it. The Magical Gramophone is in the background, which can apparently play any song from memory. What song would they listen to? 🤔
(More headcanons and reference image credits below the cut! ^_^)
Ever since the Crowley-Levan theory became more well known, I heard many say that it meant that there would be potential romantic undertones (past or present) between Crowley and Lilia, and…I genuinely thought that was part of the appeal! 。゚(゚´ω`゚)゚。 Levan theory or not, I really like them. What is their ship name? Crowlilia?? If anyone knows, please let me know!🐦⬛🦇 Crowlilia nation where are you…
I don’t really think about headcanon stuff that often, so I thought it would be fun to think of some random headcanons as I went along with the drawing!
It would be fun if Crowley had feathers on his body that are usually covered up by his suit (I absolutely adore Falin from Dungeon Meshi). I see some incredible JP artists draw Crowley with these puffier sort of pants, which I also love. I think it would be interesting if Crowley had a sort of greyed-pale, slight splotchy purple and yellow skin tone, like a deceased body that has reached the pallor mortis stage? (*゚▽゚*) It causes an uncanny and uncomfortable feeling whenever most students look at him…there’s just something wrong with him and no one wants to ask NAJXJSJD (I’d like to think that it’s blot related, and his long-term exposure to it has Not Been Good for him 💀)
For Lilia, I think he deserves some bat-like ears ^_^ I imagine him to have scars all over due to his past as a General. I ended up drawing his torso and legs less as thin as they are in canon by accident, but I kept it because I think he’d have a better diet now than his General days as well! (*゚▽゚*) I am jealous of Lilia,,,I’d like to dance with Crowley! (● ˃̶͈̀ロ˂̶͈́)੭ꠥ⁾⁾
I’m really no good at thinking of relationship headcanons haha, so I’d love to hear everyone’s ideas about them! Even though their silliness would technically be combined in a relationship, I feel like Crowley and Lilia could balance each other out? Despite all the antics they would certainly get up to, there’s a mutual acknowledgment of each other’s life experience and age. I can imagine them idly talking about parts of their own pasts over tea or a stroll in nice weather…maybe not huge chunks of backstory, but just little moments from their long lifespan that has stuck with them since. Crowley could potentially become more responsible because he’d be fretting over Lilia’s gaming time ANJDJXBD. Crowley would absolutely eat Lilia’s cooking and to him it would taste good…crows/ravens can eat pretty much anything like meat, berries, garbage and carrion so I don’t think Crowley would be upset about the chopped liver randomly inserted into his meal 😭 Even if they don’t really look it, to me they really give off the vibes of the typical image of an older couple! 🤣🐦⬛🦇
Reference Image
Models: Suzy Parker and Robin Tattersall
Photographer: Richard Avedon
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