YouTuber replicates famous fake wall test with FSD instead of Autopilot
A recent viral video by Mark Rober subjected autonomous driving technology to a rigorous test, igniting a fierce debate online. The test compared lidar systems to optical systems similar to what Tesla uses, with some surprising results. Following Rober’s experiment, a Tesla owner, Kyle Paul, replicated the test using Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system instead of Autopilot with intriguing outcomes.
In the original experiment, lidar, a high-definition radar system, demonstrated superior visibility and accuracy in certain scenarios compared to optical systems like Tesla’s. Despite this, Tesla faced criticism for failing to detect a fake wall that resembled a real road in Rober’s test, conducted using Autopilot. This led to speculation that the ultrasonic parking sensors rather than the autonomous driving technology might have detected the wall.
Kyle Paul’s test replicated Rober’s experiment but used FSD instead of Autopilot, shedding light on significant differences in Tesla’s autonomous driving capabilities. In every trial, the Tesla vehicle failed to detect the wall until it was mere inches away, suggesting a potential reliance on parking sensors for detection. However, when Paul introduced a Cybertruck equipped with Tesla’s latest HW4 FSD hardware, the results were drastically different. The Cybertruck swiftly stopped before reaching the wall in every instance, highlighting the advancement in technology between HW3 and HW4.
While Paul’s test provided valuable insights, some viewers pointed out certain conditions that were not tested, such as FSD performance with a mannequin or in rainy conditions. These factors could offer a more comprehensive understanding of how Tesla’s autonomous driving system functions in real-world scenarios. Despite these limitations, Paul’s experiment contributes to the ongoing discourse surrounding Rober’s video and challenges Tesla’s autonomous driving technology.
Overall, the comparison between Autopilot and FSD in detecting fake road obstacles emphasizes the importance of continuous technological advancements in autonomous driving systems. The variation in results between Tesla’s different hardware versions underscores the significance of hardware upgrades in enhancing safety and accuracy. Moving forward, further testing and evaluations under various conditions will be crucial in gauging the reliability and efficacy of Tesla’s autonomous driving capabilities.
