This is Anki Drive. Developed by Boris Sofman, Mark Palatucci and Hanns Tappeiner, three doctorate-level robotics students at Carnegie Mellon, Anki Drive is like a blend of 3 absolute classic games: Scalextrics, Top Trumps & Mario Kart.....but it's smarter than just that. Anki Drive has a Borg-like ability to learn and evolve. AND it gives you the ability to assault your competition! Its been shown at two of Apple's World Wide Developers Conferences, which is saying something, considering the caliber of the developers that get invited to the fruit company's annual events.
The basics of the game include using a smart-phone app to modulate an electric racecar around a track laid out on space-age mat (the Scalexectrix bit) but In true Mario kart style you can shoot your opponents, use shields and all kinds of cool stuff. The cars have their own, unique characteristics, with differing strengths and weaknesses such as speed, acceleration, weapons (Top trumps) and so on but they also feature artificial intelligence so the same overtaking moves may not work twice!
If you're already sold on the concept, the starter kit, which includes a 102-inch wide by 42-inch long track and two cars, is available for $199, with additional cars running an extra $69 a piece. If you want to know more about Anki Drive, hop over to
Engadget to read that site's excellent in-depth rundown.
