autopilot

[aw-toh-pahy-luht]

noun

1. automatic pilot.

autopilot

/ ˌɔːtəˈpaɪlət, -təʊ- /

noun

1. short for automatic pilot

Word History and Origins

Origin of autopilot¹

auto- ³ + pilot

Example Sentences

“They may be on autopilot that every action requires an action.”

Read more on Barron's

"Since the ship's autopilot was engaged at the time, the autopilot compensated for this. No alarm notified the person on the command bridge about what had happened," the prosecution authority said.

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Reliable Robotics’ new autopilot likely at first will involve “safety pilots” behind the controls ahead of further regulatory approvals, says CEO Rose, who previously worked on autonomous technologies at SpaceX and Tesla.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

An inquiry into the incident found a series of human errors, including a failure to disengage the ship's autopilot, was the root cause of the crash.

Read more on BBC

Tesla made headlines last month when a Miami jury ordered the company to pay $240 million to victims of a fatal crash involving its autopilot mode.

Read more on Los Angeles Times