Mark Rober

𝍤 a fence made out of paper is sufficient to fool a tiger, just shows that LIDAR is better at spotting Wiley Coyote vs Road Runner barrier. I don't see how true verification can be made without adding LIDAR, IR camera, ultrasonic sensor to normal visual cameras the goal is to be better than a human in all tests, just most tests is not good enough. I'm with Mark just reporting on facts. Tesla automatically turns driving over to human when confused. A 1/17th second is not sufficient and normally the Tesla flashes a warning or text message and gives up control, which is ridiculous to call full auto driving; but it appears that did not happen.

This video by Mark Rober, titled "Can You Fool A Self Driving Car?", explores how advanced LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology compares to camera-based vision systems (like Tesla’s Autopilot) through a series of extreme tests—and features an undercover mission to map Disneyland's Space Mountain [00:00].

1. Mapping Space Mountain in Total Darkness

• The Mission: Mark wanted to fulfill a 30-year childhood dream: mapping the interior layout of Disneyland’s pitch-black Space Mountain ride [01:10].
• The Tech: He hid a portable LiDAR scanner (which shoots 640,000 laser pulses per second to measure distances using the speed of light) inside an oversized jacket [03:20].
• The Result: After successfully sneaking past park security, the scanner mapped the entire ride. They also scanned The Haunted Mansion (revealing it's actually an above-ground warehouse outside the park's hill) and used the data to build a physical 3D-printed model of Space Mountain's track [07:10].

2. LiDAR vs. Tesla Autopilot Face-Off

Mark puts a LiDAR-equipped car and a Tesla running Autopilot through a 6-part head-to-head test at 40 mph against a mannequin child to see which safety system performs better [09:05]:

1. Child Standing in the Road:

• LiDAR Car: Detected the child and braked safely in time [09:30].
• Tesla: Failed to stop in time under standard automatic emergency braking (though it successfully stopped when running on the more conservative full Autopilot mode) [09:50].

2. Child Dashing Out from Behind a Parked Car:

• Both cars successfully stopped [10:50].

3. Thick Artificial Fog:

• LiDAR Car: Easily pierced the fog using lasers and stopped [11:30].
• Tesla: Completely failed to see the child through the fog and crashed straight through the mannequin [11:50].

4. Torrential Downpour / Heavy Water Wall:

• LiDAR Car: Successfully navigated through the heavy water spray and stopped [12:45].
• Tesla: Failed to detect the child through the heavy water and crashed [13:10].

5. Blinding High Beams (Sunrise/Sunset Simulation):

• Both cars successfully detected the child despite being blinded by ultra-bright lights [13:40].

6. The Wile E. Coyote Painted Brick Wall Grand Finale:

• LiDAR Car: Ignored the picture of the road painted on the wall, recognizing the physical barrier, and stopped [14:50].
• Tesla: Completely failed to recognize the wall and smashed straight through the painted backdrop without applying the brakes [15:40].