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Well, I'm gonna disagree. Let's quote wikipedia: > An autopilot is a system used to control the trajectory of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without r

Well, I'm gonna disagree. Let's quote wikipedia: > An autopilot is a system used to control the trajectory of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilot does not replace human operators. Instead, autopilot assists the operator's control of the vehicle, allowing the operator to focus on broader aspects of operations (for example, monitoring the trajectory, weather and on-board systems). This is 100% exactly what Tesla is selling. Instead of constant manual control you focus on the broader operations of your car. Even the colloquial use of "autopilot" makes it clear that being on autopilot means you're not paying very much attention: https://learnersdictionary.com/qa/what-does-on-autopilot-mean https://learnersdictionary.com/qa/what-does-on-autopilot-mea... Your car being on autopilot very much implies you still have to pay attention.

temac 6y ago
This argument is boring (because even if you were right, that's not what the public understands) but let's pretend it is not: so are you actually right? It's debatable. To fly a plane safely, you have to prioritize in the following order: aviate, navigate, communicate. An autopilot takes care of the aviate part (under some conditions) - and even bits of navigate in some case, but this is probably an easier problem actually. It can warn you when it is disengaging, so you have to be available, but you don't have to monitor actively at all time and with your full focus (as-if you fly manually) that it is working correctly and be able to disengage it yourself. Tesla "autopilot" does not take care of the aviate equivalent. It is believed so imperfect that you are supposed to stay extremely vigilant at all time, keep your hands on the wheel, look at the road as-if you were actually fully manually driving, and disengage it yourself if it attempts to kill you (or somebody else). My own judgment is that it is not an autopilot, by the most common parallel possible (with the autopilot of a plane). And again, that's probably not even very important. If most of the public believe a car autopilot is supposed not only to "aviate"-equivalent perfectly, but maybe even navigate on top of that, then Tesla, not even having reached the first part fully, should be just careful a little and chose some other wording. They don't, because they are completely playing on that. I found it even more than dishonest; I found it unethical.
richardrk 6y ago
Not sure if that quote supports your argument. Tesla states: "Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability are intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment." [0] This sounds very different from "allowing the operator to focus on broader aspects of operations". I have never heard of pilots having their hand and feet on the stick and paddles in case the airplane make an incorrect maneuver. [0] https://www.tesla.com/en_GB/support/autopilot-and-full-self-driving-capability https://www.tesla.com/en_GB/support/autopilot-and-full-self-...
- atonalfreerider 6y ago
  > I have never heard of pilots having their hand and feet on the stick and paddles in case the airplane make an incorrect maneuver. From the FAA guidlines on Autopilot: > Be ready to fly the aircraft manually to ensure proper course/clearance tracking in case of autopilot failure or misprogramming [0] [0] https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/advanced_avionics_handbook/media/aah_ch04.pdf https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/a...
  - slavik81 6y ago
    The section of that document on "Deciding When To Use the FD/Autopilot" suggests using it for "distracting tasks." The FAA states that "the FD/autopilot is used to control basic aircraft movement while the pilot focuses attention on tasks such as reviewing charts," which seems quite different from Tesla's autopilot which is "intended for use with a fully attentive driver."
  - ummonk 6y ago
    Being ready to fly doesn't require keeping your hand and feet on the stick and paddles.
    - atonalfreerider 6y ago
      The FAA guideline is "ready to fly manually" -> key word "manual" from the Latin manus meaning "hand". Tesla is going a step further by requiring hands-on contact at all times, which makes this system a MORE restrictive autopilot. Contrary to what has been posted in other comments, pilots don't just get up and start walking around the aircraft. There must be one pilot always ready to take IMMEDIATE control of the aircraft. I hate when arguments devolve into semantics, which is the premise of this whole thread. But for the sake of discussing semantics, the use of the word "autopilot" is technically accurate. Its vernacular understanding is not. But this was also the case with cruise control. See this case where a driver set a cruise control on her RV and got up to make a cup of tea: https://www.suffolkgazette.com/news/motorhome-crash/ https://www.suffolkgazette.com/news/motorhome-crash/

temac 6y ago

This argument is boring (because even if you were right, that's not what the public understands) but let's pretend it is not: so are you actually right? It's debatable. To fly a plane safely, you have to prioritize in the following order: aviate, navigate, communicate. An autopilot takes care of the aviate part (under some conditions) - and even bits of navigate in some case, but this is probably an easier problem actually. It can warn you when it is disengaging, so you have to be available, but you don't have to monitor actively at all time and with your full focus (as-if you fly manually) that it is working correctly and be able to disengage it yourself. Tesla "autopilot" does not take care of the aviate equivalent. It is believed so imperfect that you are supposed to stay extremely vigilant at all time, keep your hands on the wheel, look at the road as-if you were actually fully manually driving, and disengage it yourself if it attempts to kill you (or somebody else). My own judgment is that it is not an autopilot, by the most common parallel possible (with the autopilot of a plane). And again, that's probably not even very important. If most of the public believe a car autopilot is supposed not only to "aviate"-equivalent perfectly, but maybe even navigate on top of that, then Tesla, not even having reached the first part fully, should be just careful a little and chose some other wording. They don't, because they are completely playing on that. I found it even more than dishonest; I found it unethical.

richardrk 6y ago

Not sure if that quote supports your argument. Tesla states: "Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability are intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment." [0] This sounds very different from "allowing the operator to focus on broader aspects of operations". I have never heard of pilots having their hand and feet on the stick and paddles in case the airplane make an incorrect maneuver. [0] https://www.tesla.com/en_GB/support/autopilot-and-full-self-driving-capability https://www.tesla.com/en_GB/support/autopilot-and-full-self-...

atonalfreerider 6y ago
> I have never heard of pilots having their hand and feet on the stick and paddles in case the airplane make an incorrect maneuver. From the FAA guidlines on Autopilot: > Be ready to fly the aircraft manually to ensure proper course/clearance tracking in case of autopilot failure or misprogramming [0] [0] https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/advanced_avionics_handbook/media/aah_ch04.pdf https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/a...
- slavik81 6y ago
  The section of that document on "Deciding When To Use the FD/Autopilot" suggests using it for "distracting tasks." The FAA states that "the FD/autopilot is used to control basic aircraft movement while the pilot focuses attention on tasks such as reviewing charts," which seems quite different from Tesla's autopilot which is "intended for use with a fully attentive driver."
- ummonk 6y ago
  Being ready to fly doesn't require keeping your hand and feet on the stick and paddles.
  - atonalfreerider 6y ago
    The FAA guideline is "ready to fly manually" -> key word "manual" from the Latin manus meaning "hand". Tesla is going a step further by requiring hands-on contact at all times, which makes this system a MORE restrictive autopilot. Contrary to what has been posted in other comments, pilots don't just get up and start walking around the aircraft. There must be one pilot always ready to take IMMEDIATE control of the aircraft. I hate when arguments devolve into semantics, which is the premise of this whole thread. But for the sake of discussing semantics, the use of the word "autopilot" is technically accurate. Its vernacular understanding is not. But this was also the case with cruise control. See this case where a driver set a cruise control on her RV and got up to make a cup of tea: https://www.suffolkgazette.com/news/motorhome-crash/ https://www.suffolkgazette.com/news/motorhome-crash/