{"id":11362,"date":"2019-05-24T19:14:34","date_gmt":"2019-05-24T18:14:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsforher.com\/?p=11362"},"modified":"2019-05-24T19:14:37","modified_gmt":"2019-05-24T18:14:37","slug":"this-is-why-self-driving-cars-suck-at-making-unprotected-left-turns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/?p=11362","title":{"rendered":"This is why self-driving cars suck at making unprotected left turns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- Quick Adsense WordPress Plugin: http:\/\/quickadsense.com\/ -->\n<div class=\"c5b541d88d911dcbb84397def1a3492d\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:0px 0 0px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- m -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3943282228430444\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"5751019935\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p> [ad_1]\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"id_text\" itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<p>Human or robot driver, left-hand turns in a car are tough. Unprotected turns? Even harder.<\/p>\n<p>Cruise, the self-driving car company backed by General Motors, put out a video Thursday showing its self-driving electric Bolts making left turns all over San Francisco&#8217;s busy streets. The company says it makes 1,400 unprotected left turns every 24 hours.<\/p>\n<p>For an autonomous car company it seems like this shouldn&#8217;t be hailed as such an achievement, but it is. Waymo, the Google self-driving car spinoff company, notoriously struggled in Phoenix <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theinformation.com\/articles\/waymos-big-ambitions-slowed-by-tech-trouble?shared=4596b7125469ea51\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">to turn left<\/a> during testing on public roads. Its Chrysler Pacifica minivans were just too timid to make it through the oncoming traffic. People have noted that the robo-taxis have improved in those situations.<\/p>\n<div class=\"youtube-wrapper\">\n<p><iframe data-channel=\"Cruise\" data-template=\"embedded\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6YALSJTI33g\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In an emailed statement, Cruise president and CTO Kyle Vogt said, &#8220;In an unpredictable driving environment like SF, no two unprotected left-turns are alike. By safely executing 1,400 regularly, we generate enough data for our engineers to analyze and incorporate learnings into code they develop for other difficult maneuvers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>So while this is an important step for Cruise in its goal of launching a fleet of robo-taxis in San Francisco by the end of the year, it&#8217;s also a good reminder about the limits of autonomous vehicles.<\/p>\n<p>Bob Leigh, senior market development director of autonomous systems at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rti.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">RTI<\/a>, works with 40 different companies building autonomous vehicles of some sort: passenger vehicles, flying cars, hyperloops, and more. In a phone call Thursday he started off explaining that left-hand turns are just hard. Period.<\/p>\n<!-- Quick Adsense WordPress Plugin: http:\/\/quickadsense.com\/ -->\n<div class=\"c5b541d88d911dcbb84397def1a3492d\" data-index=\"2\" style=\"float: none; margin:0px 0 0px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- 2 -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3943282228430444\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"5511153269\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Human drivers in the U.S. crash <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/innovations\/wp\/2014\/04\/09\/the-case-for-almost-never-turning-left-while-driving\/?utm_term=.d3db73df8a55\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">10 times more<\/a> making left-hand turns than right-hand turns. But the machines should be able to handle judging the risk, details, and surroundings required to successfully turn left. You can plug in a risk algorithm and have the car system scan for pedestrians, \u00a0the timing of oncoming traffic, and more. And yet, the machines still struggle with the maneuver.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately it comes down to this: turning left on American roads is a very human, social move. It&#8217;s almost a negotiation, Leigh says. Drivers edge out into the lane, trying to assert themselves through.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A right-hand turn is a consistent maneuver,&#8221; Leigh explained. &#8220;A left-hand turn is a lot of variability.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s pedestrians, oncoming traffic, and small gestures and nudges drivers make that are hard for a machine to emulate. It takes a lot of training, data, simulations, and iteration to teach an autonomous vehicle to balance a reckless, dangerous move barreling across oncoming traffic and staying timid and conservative and waiting for 10 minutes just to turn left.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s all communication,&#8221; Leigh said. And we know social interaction is not self-driving cars&#8217; strongest suit \u2013\u00a0it&#8217;s a computer, after all. Cruise&#8217;s video shows it&#8217;s mastering what&#8217;s considered one of the hardest parts of autonomous driving in the U.S. &#8220;You can show a level of maturity,&#8221; Leigh said.<\/p>\n<p>After all, we can&#8217;t all be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/innovations\/wp\/2014\/04\/09\/the-case-for-almost-never-turning-left-while-driving\/?utm_term=.d3db73df8a55\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">like UPS<\/a>, making only right-hand turns.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bonus-video-card\">\n<h2 class=\"title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/me.mashable.com\/mobility\/3583\/we-tried-chevys-drowsy-driving-simulator-and-it-went-exactly\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">WATCH: We tried Chevy&#8217;s drowsy driving simulator and it went exactly how you&#8217;d expect<\/a><\/h2>\n<div class=\"jw-wrapper\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/videos\/embed?video=BdoM2qz109&amp;player=default\" width=\"640\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<!-- Quick Adsense WordPress Plugin: http:\/\/quickadsense.com\/ -->\n<div class=\"c5b541d88d911dcbb84397def1a3492d\" data-index=\"5\" style=\"float: none; margin:0px 0 0px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- 5 -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3943282228430444\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"9258826580\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n[ad_2]\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/me.mashable.com\/mobility\/5134\/this-is-why-self-driving-cars-suck-at-making-unprotected-left-turns\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n\n<!-- Quick Adsense WordPress Plugin: http:\/\/quickadsense.com\/ -->\n<div class=\"c5b541d88d911dcbb84397def1a3492d\" data-index=\"3\" style=\"float: none; margin:0px 0 0px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- 3 -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3943282228430444\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"2884989920\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Human or robot driver, left-hand turns in a car are tough. Unprotected turns? Even harder. Cruise, the self-driving car company backed by General Motors, put out a video Thursday showing its self-driving electric Bolts making left turns all over San Francisco&#8217;s busy streets. The company says it makes 1,400 unprotected left turns every 24 &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11362"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11362"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11364,"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11362\/revisions\/11364"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}