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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[–] Halosheep@lemm.ee 29 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Very surprised Mark isn't... Super supportive of musk and Tesla.

He owns a Tesla and is rather wealthy at this point. Not to mention that he's Mormon. I'd expect him to be very conservative and all in on the grift.

[–] KayLeadfoot@fedia.io 27 points 2 days ago (3 children)

(Edit: Ope, I think I misunderstood you, my bad. Disregard my reply.)

What a world we're living in!

Observing a technical deficiency in a robotics platform requires political considerations. Even when a car drives into a fucking wall at 40MPH on camera, people are asking about the camera man's political party affiliation and not what's wrong with the car.

Wild!

[–] Halosheep@lemm.ee 15 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Unfortunately when the vehicle in question is created by a company owned by a man operating a government agency, it's a valid question. He could have just never made the video, but making one that directly opposes the narrative of people you'd expect the "camera man's" political affiliation to be seems unusual.

[–] KayLeadfoot@fedia.io 1 points 1 day ago

Can't deny any of that.

Have I mentioned, I'm broadly surprised by how reasonable the conversations are here versus Reddit? Thanks for that, I think I misunderstood your initial comment

[–] rumba@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 day ago

out the camera man’s political party affiliation and not what’s wrong with the car.

We know what's wrong with the car. He was very clear about it. We mostly should have known it was coming.

I actually think the Tesla could be trained to stop for this, they certainly never trained it to detect this. As you get closer the perspective changes. it's slight, but probably fine for algo detection.

As far as political considerations, the REAL wild part is the actions of the current administration at less than 100 days in. It's difficult not to see things through the lense when the guy at the top is trying to dismantle the pardons of the previous president of people who weren't charged with crimes, while he pardoned the silk road guy.

Literally, every news-worthy action is peppered with politics now due to the incomprehensible actions at the top.

While Rober is officially non-committal to a political agenda:

He clearly and repeatedly supports education (this should not be a telling political statement)

He has created videos highlighting the importance of mental health and creativity, encouraging viewers to embrace their unique talents. (this should not be a telling political statement)

His projects often promote inclusivity and accessibility, making science and technology more approachable for diverse audiences. (this should not be a telling political statement)

NONE of these should be a telling political statement. Education should be paramount. Diversity should not be a political statement.

The current administration doing WHITE POWER SALUTES ON STAGE, shutting down education and REMOVING BLACK SERVICEMEN from the public internet are EXACTLY the kinds of things required to make all THIS a political statement.

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[–] Polderviking 18 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Mark is a smart guy, I'm sure he walks great big circles around anything political, at least publicly.

His audience is everybody, aligning publicly with any kind of political flow is generally a bad idea if you want that to stay that way, because the only thing you'll likely achieve is shrinking your potential audience.

I would also be careful with the assumption that all conservatives agree with what's currently happening.

[–] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Rober is definitely a businessman out to make money and is very self-promoting and will accept just about anybody as a sponsor, but I can't think of anything he's done that's been out-and-out deceitful or political. And he really does have some engineering chops.

I think he's a good voice for this because he's been so intentionally apolotical, and even my right-wing family likes his stuff.

Though my YouTube crazy engineer of choice is Stuff Made Here. He spends months between videos, but the stuff he makes is awesome, and he shows off a lot more of the actual creative process. And his fabrication tool collection is insane for a home shop.

[–] rumba@lemmy.zip 12 points 2 days ago

I’d expect him to be very conservative

We still don't know for sure. That video will likely become one of, if not his top-grossing videos. The topic and timeliness are absolute fire.

I give him some credit, though. It's a dicey time to throw Musk under the self-driving bus while showing that alternatives don't have the same problem.

[–] Aggravationstation@feddit.uk 1 points 1 day ago

Elon Musk: Meep, meep

[–] teuto@lemmy.teuto.icu 46 points 2 days ago (2 children)

According to Ol' Elon the robo-taxi service has been a couple months away since 2017 or so. I can't imagine it's much closer now than then.

[–] DogEarBookmark@reddthat.com 20 points 2 days ago

It's right at the end of the tunnel they're diggin in CA

[–] rumba@lemmy.zip 8 points 2 days ago (4 children)

I think Rober just showed us why. Mowing down kids in weather is an unacceptable amount of risk.

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[–] Sorgan71@lemmy.world 34 points 2 days ago

They should just program it to drive through the painted tunnel but when another driver comes behind you they crash into it.

[–] MidsizedSedan@lemmy.world 50 points 2 days ago (9 children)

All these years, I always thought all self driving cars used LiDAR or something to see in 3D/through fog. How was this allowed on the roads for so long?

[–] Feersummendjinn@feddit.uk 55 points 2 days ago (4 children)

They originally the model S had front facing radar and ultrasonic sensors all round, the car combined the information to corroborate it's visual interpretation.
According to reports years ago the radar saved Tesla's from multiple pileups when it detected crashes multiple cars ahead (that the driver couldn't see).
Elmo in his infinite ego demanded both the radar and ultrasonics be removed, since he could drive with out that input so the car should be able to.. also it is cheaper.

[–] Ronno 18 points 2 days ago (9 children)

Exactly, my previous car (BMW) once saved me in the fog by emergency braking for something I wasn't able to see yet. My current car (Tesla) shuts down almost all safety features when the camera's can't see anything, so I doubt it will help me in such situations. The only time my Tesla works well is in perfect conditions, but I don't live in California.

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[–] Breadhax0r@lemmy.world 20 points 2 days ago (8 children)

I remember reading that tesla only uses cameras for it's self driving. My 2018 Honda uses radar for the adaptive cruise so the technology exists, musk is just an idiot.

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[–] Ledericas@lemm.ee 17 points 2 days ago (2 children)

tesla uses cameras only, i think waymo uses lidar.

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[–] Etterra@discuss.online 34 points 2 days ago (1 children)
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[–] blady_blah@lemmy.world 46 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Honestly all the fails with the kid dummy were a way bigger deal than the wall test. The kid ones will happen a hundred times more than the wall scenario.

Some sort of radar or lidar should 100% be required on autonomous cars.

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[–] conicalscientist@lemmy.world 76 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Anyone with half a brain could tell you plain cameras is a non-starter. This is nearly a Juicero level blunder. Tesla is not a serious car company nor tech company. If markets were rational it would have been the end for Tesla.

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[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 281 points 3 days ago (5 children)

OMFG someone test to see if Teslas stop to eat free bird seed.

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[–] nichtburningturtle@feddit.org 48 points 2 days ago (1 children)
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[–] rational_lib@lemmy.world 64 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (8 children)

The rain test was far more concerning because it's much more realistic of a scenario. Both a normal person and the lidar would've seen the kid and stopped, but the cameras and image processing just isn't good enough to make out a person in the rain. That's bad. The test portrays it as a person in the middle of a straight road, but I don't see why the same thing wouldn't happen at a crosswalk or other place where pedestrians are often in the path of a vehicle. If an autonomous system cannot make out pedestrians in the rain reliably, that alone should be enough to prevent these vehicles from being legal.

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[–] happydoors@lemm.ee 53 points 2 days ago (3 children)

I love that one of the largest YouTubers is the one that did this. Surely, somebody near our federal government will throw a hissy fit if he hears about this but Mark’s audience is ginormous

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[–] Iheartcheese@lemmy.world 179 points 3 days ago (1 children)

It got fucking wile e coyoted

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