Video: How Tesla’s FSD Beta Interacts With Pedestrians & Cyclists
YouTuber ElonX-net has shared a compilation of several videos submitted by Tesla FSD Beta testers that demonstrate how the software interacts with pedestrians and cyclists. This is the second installment in a series that highlights some of the most interesting moments captured by Tesla’s FSD Beta testers. The goal of the channel is to document improvements of the software over time while taking note of issues that the AI needs to solve.
Human drivers deal with all types of situations day to day while on their commutes or running errands. Tesla’s AI is learning this as well, and the video noted that pedestrians create a variety of complex and important situations that FSD will need to be able to handle. In the first video clip, a Tesla had a bit of trouble with uncertainty while maneuvering around a cyclist in the road. The vehicle slowed down a bit too much while giving the cyclist space. You can hear the driver saying, “Keep going!” (However, perhaps this is the best way to pass a cyclist.)
In another clip, there’s a situation where there’s a cyclist and the car is unable to maneuver around it due to another car in the opposite lane. However, the vehicle slowed down and moved toward the centerline while not crossing it.
“The system was able to prioritize the safety of the cyclist without fully stopping or impeding traffic.”
In the clip after that, the software made a small mistake that could have been costly — and this is why it’s important for drivers to remain attentive when engaging FSD or Autopilot. The car moved a bit fast while moving around the cyclist and it was driving uphill, so it couldn’t see any oncoming traffic. Fortunately, there wasn’t any oncoming traffic, but the software needs to take into account that there could have been oncoming traffic in the other lane while going over the hill.
“FSD will need to be adapted to properly respond to situations involving bends in the roads and hills, and to wait behind cyclists until the view is sufficient.”
Another Difficult Situation
Chuck Cook shared this next clip. He encountered three cyclists in the rain. Each of the cyclists was spread out, yet the gaps between them were not large enough to allow the Tesla to go around them one by one. The car wanted to, but didn’t really have much of an opportunity. There was a point where the car started to go around one of the cyclists but changed its mind because of an oncoming car.
After the oncoming traffic cleared, the car was still hesitant and took too long. Chuck took over the wheel to avoid inconveniencing the cars behind him.
Extreme Caution Around Pedestrians
The video included clips of the car showing extreme caution around pedestrians. In one instance, an elderly person was in the middle of the street with a broom. It looked like they were sweeping something up. The person was on the left side in what looked like the opposite lane but the car slowed down and continued at the slower speed until it verified that the person wasn’t going to walk out in front of it, then resumed normal speed.
In another clip, a woman was walking her dogs and the car came to a complete stop. Once the vehicle realized that the woman was standing still, it continued on. Moments later, after the same driver took a right turn, a man suddenly appeared seemingly out of nowhere. He was hidden from view by a large hedge up until the last moment. The car slowed down and only continued when it saw the way was clear. A human driver might have missed him.
FSD Beta tester Frenchie came upon a man in a wheelchair going backward in the middle of the road in Chicago. The host noted that it was good to see that FSD Beta wasn’t phased by the unusual obstacle after it slowed down and safely passed the person. Frenchie has several other neat videos of FSD Beta testing in Chicago.
Sneak Peak of my future downtown video. Great FSD section under the Chicago train "L". I know it's a straight line but still nice to see it driving well under a freaking train track! 😀@elonmusk @WholeMarsBlog
Music credit: Sunset On Terra – HYBRID V pic.twitter.com/IozaSEV13R
— Frenchie (@Frenchie_x0) September 14, 2021
In response to Gali Russell’s video about his success with FSD Beta testing alongside a Seattle monorail, Elon Musk shared some interesting facts about FSD Beta 10. It can predict height from video pixels directly without needing to classify groups of pixels into objects. So if a UFO was to crash onto the road in front of you, the software would still avoid the debris. That reminded me of this story about how Autopilot detected a falling meteor in Australia.
FSD 10 predicts height from video pixels directly, without needing to classify groups of pixels into objects.
In principle, even if a UFO crashed on the road right in front of you, it would still avoid the debris.
Some work still needed to tune sensitivity.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 13, 2021
By the way, well done, Gali. He’s been working hard on that monorail test.
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