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Really? The autopilot on my boat will attempt (badly) to go in a straight line, care nothing about speed, and will happily run me into buoys, boats, beaches, br
by jws 10y ago
Really? The autopilot on my boat will attempt (badly) to go in a straight line, care nothing about speed, and will happily run me into buoys, boats, beaches, bridges, and boulders. If you are foolish enough to attempt to provide a route with waypoints for turns it will throw the rudder over without warning so suddenly that you may be injured or thrown from the vessel.
It's a big world, I suppose there are people that think "autopilot" means "crawl into the back seat and take a nap", but there is certainly a spectrum, and if you try to name something so it can never be misunderstood you will probably end up calling it "NaviaMODE™®℠" and then no one knows anything.
- jedmeyers 10y agoI don't think the average consumer will think about boat 'autopilot' when he hears the term. For most people autopilots are associated with airplanes, because that's where there are actual pilots, not drivers or helmsmen.
- jws 10y agoIn the English language, a "pilot" has meant "one who steers a ship" for almost 500 years. In 1848 it got used for balloonists, in 1907 it got used for airplane steering people.
- jedmeyers 10y agoI doubt there are a lot of people currently alive who associate the 'pilot' term with maritime activities, unless it's explicitly stated.