Engineer Proves Tesla’s Camera-Based Driver Assist Systems Inferior To Other Technology

Automakers the world over are all working on improved advanced driver aids and even autonomous driving. The approaches to these technologies are fairly similar with one exception: Tesla. While many automakers are relying not just on cameras, but also mapping data, radar sensors, and, increasingly, lidar sensors, Tesla has stubbornly stuck to just cameras for its driving assist systems. It even quit installing radar sensors entirely in its cars, so even adaptive cruise control is dependent on the cameras alone. Former NASA engineer and YouTube channel host Mark Rober decided to look into the effectiveness of those cameras against technology such as lidar, and the results show why other companies don’t rely solely on cameras.

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Tesla

Tesla, Inc. is an American electric vehicle manufacturer largely attributed to driving the EV revolution. Through the Model S and subsequent products, Tesla has innovated and challenged industry conventions on numerous fronts, including over-the-air updates, self-driving technology, and automotive construction methods. Tesla is considered the world’s most valuable car brand as of 2023, and the Model Y the world’s best-selling car in the same year, but the brand’s greatest achievement is arguably the Supercharger network of EV charging stations.

Founded: July 1, 2003
Founder: Martin Eberhard, Marc Tarpenning
Headquarters: Austin, Texas, USA
Owned By: Publicly Traded
Current CEO: Elon Musk

The Wall Was Bad, But The Weather Is More Worrying

Rober’s video (shown below) covers lidar a little more broadly, and it involves a side trip to Disneyland to map Space Mountain with a lidar sensor. It’s a fun side trip, but of course, we’re here for the car side of things. He sets up a few automatic emergency braking tests between a Tesla Model Y and a Lexus RX300 equipped by lidar company Luminar with prototype sensors. Rober starts with baseline, ideal condition tests with a dummy, and moves on to more challenging tasks. These include heavy rain, thick fog, and a giant Styrofoam wall with a photo making it look as though it’s just the road ahead. Yes, it’s a gag straight out of Road Runner cartoons.

In each of these more difficult tests, the Tesla’s cameras are unable to see the dummy, and it careens straight through it. Even the wall vexes it, effectively turning the Tesla into the Kool-Aid man. The lidar-equipped Lexus aced each challenge. In fact, the lidar would’ve been helpful even for a driver fully paying attention. The fog Rober used was so thick, even humans wouldn’t see well through it. Since the fog has nearly no effect on the lidar, it could pick up the solid object hiding within.

A Clear Case For Sensor Redundancies

The most obvious thing that Rober’s video shows is the power of lidar. Its ability to see through low-visibility environments is ideal for products like cars that have to operate in all kinds of weather conditions. It obviously could be a huge help not just for highly advanced driver assists and autonomous driving, but even more basic ones such as automatic emergency braking. Lidar sensors are still uncommon on cars, though. Volvo’s EX90 and ES90 will have roof-mounted sensors, which use Luminar technology. Lexus includes sensors on its LS 500h with all-wheel drive. They’re a part of the car’s Advanced Drive hands-off assist system. BMW and Mercedes also feature them on the 7 Series and S-Class.

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More broadly, Rober’s video makes it clear that automakers shouldn’t be overly reliant on a single piece of sensor technology for these advanced driver assist systems. Each technology has its strengths and weaknesses. Cameras are great for many things, in particular road signs and markings. But obviously they have issues spotting objects in bad weather, which is where something like lidar can come in. Mapping is another helpful tool. GM and Ford feature mapping data to make Super Cruise and Blue Cruise work. When road signs and markings are worn down and hard to see, those systems aren’t flummoxed because they have the mapping data to tell where the car needs to be. Certainly there are cases where cost is an issue, hence why we’re only seeing lidar sensors in flagship cars right now. Otherwise, though, it sure seems like automakers should use every tool in the toolbox when they can.