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But in terms of the appropriateness of calling the feature “autopilot,” it seems that Tesla’s feature is as deserving of the name as an airplane’s autopilot (th

by tc313 8y ago

But in terms of the appropriateness of calling the feature “autopilot,” it seems that Tesla’s feature is as deserving of the name as an airplane’s autopilot (the driver/pilot still has to remain alert and focused on what’s happening).

Xylakant 8y ago
So what you’re implying is that Tesla uses the misguided notion that many people have about the capabilities of an airplane autopilot to promote a feature that doesn’t behave as people expect?
- diydsp 8y ago
  after experiencing this line of inquiry on many forums, yes, that is consensus. autopilot is the lane guidance of the skies that maintains basic stability not a level 5 system. people hear autopilot and think it means it does "everything." further muddying the waters, tesla maintains their car has all the hardware, sensors and computation to support fully autonomous driving. it's just that pesky software missing.
  - masklinn 8y ago
    > autopilot is the lane guidance of the skies that maintains basic stability not a level 5 system. FWIW that's not necessarily true either, autopilots run the entire gamut from "maintains trajectory and altitude" to "automated flight from takeoff to landing" (only the taxiing is left to the pilot).
- usrusr 8y ago
  A switch for maintaining bearing and altitude would be pretty useless in a car, but it would definitely cause fewer misunderstandings than the current illusion of autonomy. Supervised autonomy is dangerous no matter how it is labeled, but some labels are worse than others.
nikofeyn 8y ago
that's all well and good, but i am not talking about airplanes' auto-pilot. there are also still differences in terms of everyday joes buying teslas using its auto-pilot versus trained pilots using auto-pilot. there are differences in availability so the airplane situation is not as suscpetible or vulnerable to a poorly named feature and marketing hype. maybe it is, but i wager the tesla situation is worse.

by tc313 8y ago

Xylakant 8y ago

So what you’re implying is that Tesla uses the misguided notion that many people have about the capabilities of an airplane autopilot to promote a feature that doesn’t behave as people expect?

diydsp 8y ago
after experiencing this line of inquiry on many forums, yes, that is consensus. autopilot is the lane guidance of the skies that maintains basic stability not a level 5 system. people hear autopilot and think it means it does "everything." further muddying the waters, tesla maintains their car has all the hardware, sensors and computation to support fully autonomous driving. it's just that pesky software missing.
- masklinn 8y ago
  > autopilot is the lane guidance of the skies that maintains basic stability not a level 5 system. FWIW that's not necessarily true either, autopilots run the entire gamut from "maintains trajectory and altitude" to "automated flight from takeoff to landing" (only the taxiing is left to the pilot).
usrusr 8y ago
A switch for maintaining bearing and altitude would be pretty useless in a car, but it would definitely cause fewer misunderstandings than the current illusion of autonomy. Supervised autonomy is dangerous no matter how it is labeled, but some labels are worse than others.

nikofeyn 8y ago

that's all well and good, but i am not talking about airplanes' auto-pilot. there are also still differences in terms of everyday joes buying teslas using its auto-pilot versus trained pilots using auto-pilot. there are differences in availability so the airplane situation is not as suscpetible or vulnerable to a poorly named feature and marketing hype. maybe it is, but i wager the tesla situation is worse.