Boss delivered another strong performance on Day 2 of the NQE. The test assessed the ability to handle cross traffic and oncoming traffic and to make safe left turns across moving traffic. The test is a variation of ‘chicken’ from the old days of hot-rodding, but this is played out with robots and humans sharing the road. A dozen human drivers created dense, two-way traffic and Boss found its way through it. Boss had to find gaps, choose opportunities to enter and cross traffic, and make its way around a ‘belt-buckle’ shaped course. Boss completed 16 circuits of the course in the allotted 25 minutes. That is best-yet, but more is possible, and some great competitors have not yet run this. The next-best performance so far is 11 circuits scored by Virginia Tech. “All in all, it looked like the vehicle did a kickass job out there,” Chris Urmson, director of technology, told the team when it gathered for a post-run briefing. During the test, Boss had to cross the belt-buckle on the center road while human traffic flowed continuously at every turn and every intersection. Boss had to repeatedly read and shoot the gaps. Too much boldness and Boss would disrupt traffic. Too much hesitation and opportunities disappear. A perimeter of jersey barriers encroach on the outer lane, so the course is tight and unforgiving — traffic or no traffic. The lanes are only 11-feet wide (versus the standard 14 feet), so Boss had to thread the gap between oncoming traffic and the rail. Boss made …