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Waymo Self-driving Cars Are Having Problems Turning Around Corners (siliconangle.com)
Alphabet's Waymo has long been regarded as the leader in autonomous vehicle development and technology, but all might not be as well as it seems at the company, according to a report published Tuesday. From a report: The Information quoted a number of unnamed Waymo insiders who claim the vehicles being used in the Arizona ride-hailing test have numerous problems. The test, which launched in November, is meant to be converted to a full commercial service later this year. The report claimed that the autonomous Chrysler Pacifica struggles to handle a number of driving tasks and even goes as far as annoying human drivers around them. Top among the problems is an apparent issue with turning left. "The Waymo vans have trouble with many unprotected left turns and with merging into heavy traffic in the Phoenix area, especially on highways," the report noted. "Sometimes, the vans don't understand basic road features, such as metered red and green lights that regulate the pace of cars merging onto freeways." If having problems turning left isn't bad enough, they also apparently on occasion have problems turning right. One woman claimed that she almost hit a Waymo vehicle as it suddenly stopped while trying to make a right turn.
I really cannot fathom these monstrosities on the same road as myself. Time and time again it has been proven that a human driver is needed to intervene to keep these 'auto'mobiles in check. Yet, each one of these companies claims they'll be fully autonomous within a year or so, and each time it gets delayed again and again. If there's any indicator where we're at, just take a look at the newly released chat with the former Telsa worker. When will Silicon Valley and its ilk stop spreading false hopes and flat out lies to appease investors, it's starting to look like Trumpgate part 2. It is most likely at least a decade or 5 away from reality, maybe more so for the streets of London. Many more will die in the same likes as in the Tempe, AZ accident. It's going to take a revolutionary AI, one that hasn't been built yet to truly make this a reality. Robots are def not here to take our jobs or take over the world. If anything, it will create even more work for us humans, assuming we don't get ran over in the process...
When I was in high school, my sister had a friend who was deathly afraid of turning left from one busy street to another. She just didn't get the whole, "inch out until the light turns yellow, and you're sure oncoming traffic is gonna stop, and then complete your turn" thing. So, swear to god, she used to make three right hand turns instead. She drover her father's old '70 Buick Electra 225 4-door and that thing was like an aircraft carrier. But it had the first electric seats I ever saw and had the bucket seats instead of a bench in the front, which I though was cool.
In summary, as long as you can make a sufficient number of right-hand turns, you can get away without hanging a Louie.
You are welcome on my lawn.
OK ... So we have several problems
First the Waymo software is likely a bit buggy. No surprise there. It'll take several years to work through that Wait til they encounter some of the blinking red and yellow arrows recently installed on traffic signals around here. I don't have the slightest idea what they really mean. Neither does anyone else.. Neither, I'll bet, will Waymo. On top of which at some times on some days, the sensors trying to read the signals will be looking directly into the sun.
Second, the Waymo cars try to drive safely and legally. Whereas human drivers generally try to drive as quickly as possible without being delayed by accidents or police traffic stops.
Third, I expect, is that autonomous vehicles in general are likely going to have trouble with some forms of bad weather -- especially heavy snow which humans who like to stay out o0f ditches handle by driving quite slowly and keeping moving. This is likely not going to be apparent in testing in Sunnyvale or Phoenix.
You can't see ANYTHING from a car, You've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk...Edward Abbey
It is not going to happen on regular roads as we know them. Instead some big corporation is going to build a new city (possibly around a new campus) where regular cars will be banned and all trafic will be autonomous and roads will be smart as well with sensors, broadcasts, and what not. It will be so much simpler (for the AI) and so much more convenient for the humans. And once the benefits are obvious, other cities will follow suit. Building a city from scratch was Walt Disney's dream btw.
The ideal solution would be to redesign the road system so that autonomous vehicles could happily work however that would require trillions of dollars
You may as well bring back tram systems
”One woman claimed that she almost hit a Waymo vehicle as it suddenly stopped while trying to make a right turn.”
If you almost hit someone because they stopped suddenly... that’s on you, not the other driver.
Don’t drive like an idiot.
#DeleteChrome
I'm not an ambi-turner. It's a problem I had since I was a baby. I can't turn left.
One woman claimed that she almost hit a Waymo vehicle as it suddenly stopped
Then don't tailgate. Idiot.
According to Top Gear, going around corners is a problem with US car design as they are only able to go blisteringly fast in a straight line :)
"The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
I'd like to hear Waymo's side of the story as I could imagine that the vehicle may have stopped during a right turn because it detected a hazard that was real (maybe a child running towards the road) or not real (paperbag flying towards the road). I also find the wording "the vans don't understand basic road features, such as metered red and green lights that regulate the pace of cars merging onto freeways" strange. Surely metered lights are not a basic road feature but something quite rare. I'm not saying that Waymo should not be able to handle those (surely they should!) but it does not seem to be a major failure either.
Yes, but every Waymo van will also stop having trouble when the issue is resolved as well. The humans aren't getting any better. For myself, I've never even heard of metered lights to control pacing other than a yellow to indicate hazard or slow.
The metered lights are not uncommon, they're used all over the country for freeway ramps. To avoid excessive congestion on the freeway during rush hour, one is not allowed to proceed past the metered point until one has one's own green light. The lights are normally red, momentarily turn green for one car to proceed, then revert to red.
That surprises me is that these are a challenge for the cars. The control signal lights are not placed in exactly the same place everywhere (some older freeways place them above, while most place them to the left of the left lane or the right of the right lane) but they're time-activated and they function the same way everywhere. Worst case Waymo should be able to map-out where they're at and should also be able to establish rules that govern when they're in-effect, how the light in this zone work, and where to look to confirm no-go versus go.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.