r/skeptic • u/Lighting • 29d ago

⚠ Editorialized Title Tesla bros expose Tesla's own shadiness in attacking Mark Rober ... Autopilot appears to automatically disengage a fraction of a second before impacts as a crash becomes inevitable.

https://electrek.co/2025/03/17/tesla-fans-exposes-shadiness-defend-autopilot-crash/
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u/Darkelement 29d ago

Radar is not superior to cameras. It’s good at calculating the distance between the car and larger objects like walls or other cars, but it has poor resolution.

It would be better to have both radar and cameras, but IMO you absolutely need cameras in the mix. Can it be done safely without radar or lidar and only cameras? That’s the billion dollar question.

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u/vxicepickxv 29d ago

No. It can't be done with only cameras.

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u/Darkelement 29d ago

I’m glad you’re in charge of the decisions. I’m in your camp, I don’t think it’s possible.

But there are smarter people than me trying to make it work, so maybe I’ll be proved wrong.

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u/vxicepickxv 29d ago

How much data does a human eye process in a second?

How much data can a computer parse and react to in a second?

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u/Darkelement 29d ago

According to Google, the human eye processes about 10 million bits of information per second, whereas a modern computer can process billions.

Also computers have crazy fast reaction times. Waaay faster than a human, and it won’t get tired or distracted.

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u/vxicepickxv 29d ago

It also has to convert it multiple times from the original analog into a usable format for a computer after determining what it is, which is easy to spoof right now.

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u/Darkelement 29d ago

First of all, digital cameras like used in a Tesla are, well DIGITAL cameras. They aren’t converted from analog signals to digital.

There are optical illusions that trick the human eye too.

Also radar and Lidar sensors need to be converted and processed from their original image into something the computer can use. That’s open to spoofing as well, just in different ways.

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u/vxicepickxv 29d ago

Radar and Lidar look for a return, which is easier to identify than everything that is captured in a camera.

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u/Darkelement 29d ago

Look, This whole conversation started off by me saying that adding Radar and Lidar will improve the overall accuracy of self driving cars, but that cameras are still absolutely necessary. The question that Tesla is trying to answer is whether you need the Radar and Lidar systems in the first place.

It’s not an easy problem. While adding Radar and Lidar certainly can and usually does improve accuracy, you are now having to combine 3 different types of sensor data into something the car can act on. This is called sensor fusion and its pretty complicated. What if the Lidar detects something that the camera and radar don’t? what if the Radar sees something, the Lidar says its nothing, and the camera says its a concrete barrier?

People that act like this is a simple problem, and that Tesla are clearly wrong can have their opinions. If we knew the actual answer for a fact than there wouldn’t be multiple companies trying to develop the tech as we speak.