this post was submitted on 16 Mar 2025
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Mark Rober just set up one of the most interesting self-driving tests of 2025, and he did it by imitating Looney Tunes. The former NASA engineer and current YouTube mad scientist recreated the classic gag where Wile E. Coyote paints a tunnel onto a wall to fool the Road Runner.

Only this time, the test subject wasn’t a cartoon bird… it was a self-driving Tesla Model Y.

The result? A full-speed, 40 MPH impact straight into the wall. Watch the video and tell us what you think!

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[–] Armok_the_bunny@lemmy.world 102 points 15 hours ago (35 children)

I saw the video pop up in my Youtube recommended, but didn't bother watching because I just assumed that any cars tested would be using LIDAR and thus would ignore the fake road just fine. I had no idea Tesla a) was still using basic cameras for this and b) actually had sophisticated enough "self driving" capabilities that this could be tested on them safely.

[–] KayLeadfoot@fedia.io 60 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

They tested a LiDAR rigged car, and it stopped just like you predicted. As of 2021, Tesla uses only cameras for FSD, and not even radar (which my stupid fine Toyota truck has).

They tested the idea safely by building the wall out of styrofoam, or at least that's what it looks like when it blows apart :)

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[–] vin@lemmynsfw.com 24 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) (7 children)

Forget lidar, they don't even have mature tech like radar for emergency braking. Edit: +even

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[–] jet@hackertalks.com 118 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) (6 children)
[–] KayLeadfoot@fedia.io 87 points 16 hours ago (5 children)

"But humans can do it with their eyes!" - says the man not selling a human brain to go with the optical sensors

[–] FiskFisk33@startrek.website 22 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago) (1 children)

“But humans can do it with their eyes!”

That's the best part, they kinda can't.
There are videos from before they pulled the sensors of some pretty cool stuff where teslas slammed the breaks before anything visibly happened, based on lidar sensors sensing trouble a couple cars up the road, completely blocked to vision.

super cool safety tech, and then they pulled it....

one example here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIcC2ZMePKI

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[–] jet@hackertalks.com 31 points 15 hours ago (3 children)
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[–] cm0002@lemmy.world 30 points 14 hours ago (2 children)

The day I heard that was the day I realized he's a fucking idiot and I wanted nothing to do with his cars/tech.

Judging by how things have turned out...damn was that a good decision lmao

[–] QuarterSwede@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago

Absolutely the same timing for me. That was a big, oh that’s his logic?, moment.

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[–] blackluster117@sh.itjust.works 49 points 15 hours ago (2 children)

Still think LIDAR is inferior to computer vision, Elon?

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 19 points 14 hours ago

He never thought about it in the first place.

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[–] cmhe@lemmy.world 21 points 13 hours ago (8 children)

I am a bit disappointed to not see the Tesla crash into a real wall. I feel a bit click baited here.

Also, they prepared the polystyrene wall to break this cartoonishly, but still played on being surprised.

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[–] Rozauhtuno@lemmy.blahaj.zone 25 points 14 hours ago

The war against AI will be fought with Looney Tunes bits.

[–] regrub@lemmy.world 34 points 15 hours ago (3 children)

I would say that it's a good idea to paint more tunnels on walls, but then I remember how dumb human drivers are too

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