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Autopilot is not a word made up by marketing though. It’s already defined: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/automatic_pilot https://en.oxforddiction

Autopilot is not a word made up by marketing though. It’s already defined: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/automatic_pilot https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/automatic_pilot “A device for keeping an aircraft on a set course without the intervention of the pilot.” If you enable an autopilot, intervention by the pilot is not necessary by definition

hyperbovine 8y ago
“By definition“ you are not driving a car.
cynix 8y ago
> If you enable an autopilot, intervention by the pilot is not necessary by definition Only if you're happy for the aircraft to continue travelling in the same set course. I guess by the same virtue, driver intervention is also not required if you're willing to let the vehicle travel in the same direction and disregard the firetruck ahead... Tesla's Autopilot is perfectly capable of maintaining direction/speed of travel, and it even follows the curves of the road most of the time which is presumably more than an aircraft autopilot system can do. It is the driver who is not willing to disregard the obstacles ahead, the same way presumably aircraft pilots are not willing to disregard obstacles in their course and will take over control of the aircraft if there is one. Nothing wrong with our tendency to avoid obstacles in order to not die, of course, but it's not the autopilot's job since the definition of autopilot is to maintain a set course, as you quoted. You may be confusing it with full self-driving, which doesn't exist yet.
readams 8y ago
Aircraft autopilot will happily fly you into a mountain or other aircraft.
- King-Aaron 8y ago
  I'm glad someone mentioned this. It's frustrating that the general public doesn't understand what the word 'autopilot' means... Otto the automatic pilot from the movie Airplane! isn't what an automatic pilot is. However, since it is commonly misrepresented, they should change the name of Tesla's system.
- Twisell 8y ago
  While true, there is like a lot of redondant auxiliary warning system in a plane that work independently of the autopilot. So if autopilot tried to fly you into a mountain, the humans pilots would have to willingly ignore all the warnings thrown at them (it happened recently, and was qualified as human error). What is terrifying with Tesla autopilot is that there is seemingly not enough auxiliary warning system. With only two of them (hand on wheel or stop, static object detection) you could have avoided almost all Tesla crashes. They putted beta vehicle in hand of customers, that’s a choice, now they have to live with it. Edit: first sentence was misleading
Sharlin 8y ago
General public has little idea of what a plane autopilot can or cannot do. Somewhat ironically, the Tesla Autopilot is quite close to a real plane autopilot in that it’s a rather dumb system that cannot adjust to unexpected events. But Joe R. Driver reads Tesla marketing material and doesn’t realize that, dictionary definition notwithstanding.

hyperbovine 8y ago

“By definition“ you are not driving a car.

cynix 8y ago

> If you enable an autopilot, intervention by the pilot is not necessary by definition Only if you're happy for the aircraft to continue travelling in the same set course. I guess by the same virtue, driver intervention is also not required if you're willing to let the vehicle travel in the same direction and disregard the firetruck ahead... Tesla's Autopilot is perfectly capable of maintaining direction/speed of travel, and it even follows the curves of the road most of the time which is presumably more than an aircraft autopilot system can do. It is the driver who is not willing to disregard the obstacles ahead, the same way presumably aircraft pilots are not willing to disregard obstacles in their course and will take over control of the aircraft if there is one. Nothing wrong with our tendency to avoid obstacles in order to not die, of course, but it's not the autopilot's job since the definition of autopilot is to maintain a set course, as you quoted. You may be confusing it with full self-driving, which doesn't exist yet.

readams 8y ago

Aircraft autopilot will happily fly you into a mountain or other aircraft.

King-Aaron 8y ago
I'm glad someone mentioned this. It's frustrating that the general public doesn't understand what the word 'autopilot' means... Otto the automatic pilot from the movie Airplane! isn't what an automatic pilot is. However, since it is commonly misrepresented, they should change the name of Tesla's system.
Twisell 8y ago
While true, there is like a lot of redondant auxiliary warning system in a plane that work independently of the autopilot. So if autopilot tried to fly you into a mountain, the humans pilots would have to willingly ignore all the warnings thrown at them (it happened recently, and was qualified as human error). What is terrifying with Tesla autopilot is that there is seemingly not enough auxiliary warning system. With only two of them (hand on wheel or stop, static object detection) you could have avoided almost all Tesla crashes. They putted beta vehicle in hand of customers, that’s a choice, now they have to live with it. Edit: first sentence was misleading

Sharlin 8y ago

General public has little idea of what a plane autopilot can or cannot do. Somewhat ironically, the Tesla Autopilot is quite close to a real plane autopilot in that it’s a rather dumb system that cannot adjust to unexpected events. But Joe R. Driver reads Tesla marketing material and doesn’t realize that, dictionary definition notwithstanding.