FSD beta avoids roadkill

[MLXXXp]

I was surprised that my M3 driving on FSD beta (version 11.4.2) recognised and swerved to avoid roadkill. It was a raccoon that was flattened almost beyond recognition. I assumed the car would just ignore and drive over it, which was fine by me since it was centred in the lane and low enough that I would pass over it without contact. Instead, FSD slowed for an oncoming car in the opposite lane then crossed the centre line to pass by it on the left.

I've posted a YouTube video of the incident, cropped from the forward dashcam footage. Sorry, I can't say how the object was visualised on the screen because I was keeping my eyes on the road to be ready to intervene if necessary.

 

[mgs333]

This would be a welcome change. I just had mine on 11.3.6 completely ignored and ran right over roadkill that was still 'fresh' and looked like it wasn't driven over yet. But then a few days earlier, it also avoided 1 crow that was mostly motionless until the car got close enough to start swerving.

 

[alstoralset]

FSD beta avoids running over its own kind.

 

[JB47394]

I was surprised that my M3 driving on FSD beta (version 11.4.2) recognised and swerved to avoid roadkill.

I had a pair of dead foxes in the road, separated by about 20 meters. One was in the center of the road, so the car didn't do anything, but the other was in line with the right wheel. The car wobbled a bit as if it was planning to go around, then it settled down and drove right over it. There was a car passing in the opposite direction, and that may have blocked its only acceptable path to not run it over. A simple shift towards the edge of the road would have worked perfectly well, but FSD doesn't like edges of roads.

But at least it detected it.

 

[Supcom]

I had 11.3.6 dodge a dead animal (raccoon size) as well as a full plastic garbage bag. Both on 55-65 mph roads. I haven't had the opportunity yet on 11.4.2, though I have seen plenty of gray blobs zip by in the visualization of the shoulder on limited access roads.

 

[Mullermn]

Impressive given that there was a very similar looking pothole(?) in the road just before which the car did not react to.

I saw one youtuber vid recently where it detoured to avoid a flock of pigeons sat in the lane, but there were more of them and they were upright and moving so this is more impressive.

Definitely supports the idea that the reason it doesn't handle potholes/speedbumps very well yet is just because they haven't focussed on that part of the system yet, not that it won't be able to do it.

 

[JB47394]

Definitely supports the idea that the reason it doesn't handle potholes/speedbumps very well yet is just because they haven't focussed on that part of the system yet, not that it won't be able to do it.

For me, the jury's out on that one because of scale. Diverting around a dead animal on a country road is reasonable. Stopping for a flock of birds is reasonable. Maneuvering across and through a hodgepodge of urban potholes, patches and discolorations is a much harder problem. Is it within the abilities of HW3 and the FSDb team? I don't think so, but I'd be happy to be proven wrong.

 

[MLXXXp]

Sorry, I can't say how the object was visualised on the screen because I was keeping my eyes on the road to be ready to intervene if necessary.

I ended up driving the same route later in the day yesterday and the dead raccoon was still there. I looked at the screen this time. It was rendered as just a grey blob, the same as roadside garbage and debris is rendered.

FSD swerved around it to the left, the same as before. There were no oncoming cars this time, so it didn't slow down during the avoidance.

 

[Bendar]

I was surprised that my M3 driving on FSD beta (version 11.4.2) recognised and swerved to avoid roadkill. It was a raccoon that was flattened almost beyond recognition. I assumed the car would just ignore and drive over it, which was fine by me since it was centred in the lane and low enough that I would pass over it without contact. Instead, FSD slowed for an oncoming car in the opposite lane then crossed the centre line to pass by it on the left.

I've posted a YouTube video of the incident, cropped from the forward dashcam footage. Sorry, I can't say how the object was visualised on the screen because I was keeping my eyes on the road to be ready to intervene if necessary.

I think FSD thought it was a large pothole, That's what it looked like to me at first.

 

[MLXXXp]

I think FSD thought it was a large pothole

FSD has never avoided any potholes for me and plenty of them appear every spring in my area (Toronto) due to the cold winters. As I said in my 2nd post, it appeared on the screen as a grey blob of debris, which I've never seen for a pothole.

I'm thinking FSD correctly recognised it as something rising above the road surface, not a depression, and because it wasn't sure of the height, FSD avoided it by going around it. If FSD thought it was a pothole, it more likely would have just continued straight, knowing it would straddle it.

 

[SidetrackedSue]

Not FSDb but I had my car on AP slow and swerve around a piece of sheet metal half in my (middle) lane, half in the right lane on a freeway. I'm not sure I would have reacted as quickly. I was set to 7 car lengths following distance but there wasn't a lot of time between the car in front swerving (which is what caught my attention) and me identifying the danger (at that point the car was reacting appropriately on its own so I just rode it out and didn't disengage even accidentally by fighting the wheel.) There was a semi behind me that ended up braking once he saw it (heard the air brakes) and trying a lane change (I looked via rear-view mirror) and I heard squealing tires behind me, I assume from the cars following the truck. Pretty sure I never slowed anywhere near enough to start a chain reaction, it was just a gentle slow to buy a few micro-seconds for lane check before swerve.

I'm on 11.3.6 but that doesn't really matter because it was AP (so old software not the FSDb stack.)

It was one of the few times I've had AP do something I didn't want to complain about which is why I'm sharing even though it isn't really relevant. It is the first time I've ever experienced anything like that so my first experience of how the car on AP will handle it.

 

[Supcom]

On 11.4.2, I have noticed the car showing a lot of road debris on the screen. You can see it as fuzzy gray blobs that appear briefly as the car passes the object. I suspect that the car does not identify the debris, but simply adds an unknown object to the occupancy network and avoids it, if possible.

 

[rlsd]

I was surprised that my M3 driving on FSD beta (version 11.4.2) recognised and swerved to avoid roadkill. It was a raccoon that was flattened almost beyond recognition. I assumed the car would just ignore and drive over it, which was fine by me since it was centred in the lane and low enough that I would pass over it without contact. Instead, FSD slowed for an oncoming car in the opposite lane then crossed the centre line to pass by it on the left.

I've posted a YouTube video of the incident, cropped from the forward dashcam footage. Sorry, I can't say how the object was visualised on the screen because I was keeping my eyes on the road to be ready to intervene if necessary.

Mine also avoided running over a small bag (or a piece of clothing) on freeway two weeks ago. 11.4.2 too.

 

[AndrewZ]

For me, the jury's out on that one because of scale. Diverting around a dead animal on a country road is reasonable. Stopping for a flock of birds is reasonable. Maneuvering across and through a hodgepodge of urban potholes, patches and discolorations is a much harder problem. Is it within the abilities of HW3 and the FSDb team? I don't think so, but I'd be happy to be proven wrong.

Yeah I think the real problem is in false positives cropping up and having the car needlessly swerving around things that don't need to be swerved around

Like phantom braking but phantom swerving

 

[TomServo]

I’m on v11.3.6 and there was a very section of a truck tire tread on the highway, I waited as long as I could and finally took control away from FSD beta, and the lane to my left was open. So this would be a welcome improvement.

 

[T061]

I’m on v11.3.6 and there was a very section of a truck tire tread on the highway, I waited as long as I could and finally took control away from FSD beta, and the lane to my left was open. So this would be a welcome improvement.

I was on 11.4.2 when my car avoided a small section of a truck tire at 60mph. It was very smooth.