autopilot

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

autopilot
    n 1: a cognitive state in which you act without self-awareness;
         "she went about her chores on automatic pilot"; "too much
         of the writing seems to have been done on automatic pilot";
         "she talked and he dozed and my mind went on autopilot"
         [syn: {automatic pilot}, {autopilot}]
    2: a navigational device that automatically keeps ships or
       planes or spacecraft on a steady course [syn: {autopilot},
       {automatic pilot}, {robot pilot}]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

autopilot \autopilot\ n.
   a device that automatically keeps ships or planes or
   spacecraft on a steady course.

   Syn: automatic pilot.
        [WordNet 1.5]