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xxgreg | 6 years ago

"An autopilot is a system used to control the trajectory of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without constant manual control by a human operator being required. Autopilots do not replace human operators, but instead they assist them in controlling the vehicle."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autopilot

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cjhopman|6 years ago

Who cares what the definition is? How people interpret it is what matters. And people interpret the word to imply that the software is better than it is.

IIHS did a survey of 2000 people and a driver assistance system named "Autopilot" received the most responses that overestimated the system's capabilities. For example, "Nearly half — 48% — thought it would be safe to take hands off the steering wheel when using the system." In general, about 50% more people overestimated the capabilities of Autopilot compared to the names used by industry leaders (ex. SuperCruise, ProPilot Assist). Other things users were more likely to think they could do with "AutoPilot" included texting and watching a video.

See https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/new-studies-highlight-drive...

bananabreakfast|6 years ago

"Who cares what the definition is?"

Are you serious?? Literally everyone.

Definitions are what things mean. People incorrectly interpreting a word is their own fault and are in need of education.

Also, that's a terrible study to highlight. It is totally safe to take your hands off the steering wheel as long as you are ready to react.

missosoup|6 years ago

When autopilot fails, the PIC has minutes to take controls and avert whatever bad thing might happen. When Tesla 'autopilot' fails the driver might have less than a second to take controls and avoid collision.

This fundamental mis-branding is why various regulators across the globe are cracking down on Tesla marketing.

nopzor|6 years ago

sorry, when autopilot fails, or when atc calls, or when tcas alarms, or when any one of many other possible “complications” arise,the pilot does not have “minutes” to react.

autopilot in aviation requires the pilot to be attentive, and maintain situational awareness.

it’s not autonomous flying.

aschobel|6 years ago

If you disengage with flying or driving the consequences can be catastrophic in seconds.

Fewer things to hit in the sky but you can never be complacent.

Imagine playing an iPhone game while PIC and accidentally flying into the clouds? The CFIT stats are terrifying.

blackflame7000|6 years ago

737 Max says you're wrong. Autopilot can fail in a hurry no matter what the vehicle.

bananabreakfast|6 years ago

Wrong, wrong, wrong. This is another great misunderstanding of how any autopilot works or what it means.

ceejayoz|6 years ago

There's the "a pilot would know this, and have been heavily trained in its limitations and usage" definition, and there's the layperson understanding of things.

People think autopilots do a lot more than they actually do, which is part of the problem with Tesla's naming. They probably should've called it "assisted cruise" or "driver assist" or something, but that's less sexy on the marketing side.

It doesn't help that their marketing pages for Autopilot have done a clever job of blurring the line between what's currently implemented and what's aspirational. https://www.tesla.com/autopilot has a giant header titled "Full Self-Driving Capability". You have to read more closely to see the big caveats.

mnd999|6 years ago

Autopilots on aircraft do a lot, including automatic landing where necessary (fog etc.). What they don’t do, is control the plane on the ground. There is no autopilot on the taxiway and that is what Tesla’s are trying to do.

stefan_|6 years ago

Autopilots in aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft have very well understood failure modes. Tesla Autopilot fails dead, whatever doesn't fit into a neat neural network label box is straight up rammed blind.