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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[–] Iheartcheese@lemmy.world 179 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It got fucking wile e coyoted

[–] KayLeadfoot@fedia.io 86 points 2 days ago

The scientists in Ireland calling their data set to prevent this exact fucking thing "Coyote" sent me over the moon.

[–] Duke_Nukem_1990@feddit.org 78 points 1 day ago

TIL Mark Rober is a domestic terrorist

[–] pjwestin@lemmy.world 39 points 1 day ago

To be fair, the roadrunner it was following somehow successfully ran into the painting.

[–] jet@hackertalks.com 141 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (12 children)
[–] KayLeadfoot@fedia.io 107 points 2 days ago (18 children)

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

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[–] Armok_the_bunny@lemmy.world 112 points 2 days ago (10 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.

[–] Lukas@feddit.org 155 points 2 days ago (11 children)

They are not still using cameras but removed LIDAR and radar from their cars during the chip shortage 2020/21. The story they were telling was "humans don't have LIDAR but can drive cars as well, so the cars also only need 'eyes' like humans".

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 101 points 2 days ago (6 children)

Humans cannot, in fact, drive cars well. Humans kill tens of thousands of other humans with cars every year in the US alone.

[–] ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.org 84 points 2 days ago (16 children)

Yup, cameras and humans share various exploits. Self-driving is going to work better than humans once every car has it and communicates with each other, allowing for minimal gaps even at high speeds, once roads are all very standardized and in a database, and-

Wait, that's trains

Fucking build more electrified high-speed rail and forget tech bros' shitty promises

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[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 104 points 2 days ago (2 children)

And let me just add, Musk ordered the LIDAR removed against the engineers better judgement.

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[–] KayLeadfoot@fedia.io 64 points 2 days 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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[–] rumba@lemmy.zip 25 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Mark Rober is about to be listed as FBI public enemy #1 :(

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[–] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 78 points 2 days ago (1 children)
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To any artists in Austin,TX: you have your work cut out for you. Godspeed.

[–] ShaggySnacks@lemmy.myserv.one 12 points 1 day ago

A fitting metaphor for Musky and their involvement with the US government.

[–] Corno@lemm.ee 17 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)
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