Tesla CEO Elon Musk emphasizes that the corporate’s future lies in totally autonomous automobiles somewhat than merely competing with producers like BYD in electrical automobile manufacturing. Tesla’s technique of growing autonomous driving know-how is notably distinctive and contentious, because it solely will depend on cameras and synthetic intelligence, with out incorporating extra sensors like radar or lidar.
A current video from YouTuber and engineer Mark Rober highlights the constraints of this strategy. Drawing inspiration from an previous Looney Tunes cartoon, he checks whether or not a painted wall can deceive a Tesla in Autopilot mode into crashing.
In a comical twist harking back to Wile E. Coyote, the Tesla fails to navigate the faux tunnel and crashes straight into the wall, as its engineers haven’t but devised a solution to zip by means of such a barrier just like the Street Runner.
Rober’s testing begins halfway by means of the video, the place he compares the Tesla’s efficiency with that of a lidar-equipped Lexus SUV from Luminar. Each automobiles initially reach stopping for a simulated baby showing in entrance of them, however the variations of their notion grow to be evident.
The essential second arises when Rober introduces the painted wall, designed to mix in with the street and surrounding atmosphere. The lidar-equipped Lexus acknowledges the wall and halts accordingly, whereas the Tesla continues ahead with out braking. Rober states, “For the primary time within the historical past of the world, Tesla’s optical digicam system would completely smash by means of a faux wall with out even a slight faucet on the brakes.”
Regardless of vital developments in Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving methods, they’ve been related to quite a few crashes—some deadly—and have triggered numerous state and federal investigations. Many specialists in autonomous know-how argue that Tesla’s camera-centric strategy, which Musk favors for its resemblance to human driving, might at all times fall brief in reaching the objective of safer and extra dependable self-driving automobiles.
When you might by no means by chance drive right into a faux wall like a cartoon character, this video raises questions on what else Tesla’s camera-only system would possibly overlook, particularly if future automobiles lack conventional steering wheels and pedals.
For inquiries, attain out to the creator at patrick.george@insideevs.com.
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