There’s no doubt about it. The new ANKI Drive game is quite possibly one of the hottest toys ever created, and it’s just now gaining momentum. While I scoured shelves for remote control helicopters for my kids – who are far too young for the type of tech ANKI has to offer – I found myself wishing I had something just a little more mature to play with.
So What Exactly IS Anki?
Just the coolest toy ever created. Honestly. We’re talking about artificial intelligence combined with race care technology. Years ago, race cars ran on tracks and flew off if they were going too fast. Anki has a flat track and those who have seen it confess to not being sure how or why the car is even staying on the track. It seems more like it should be a remote control car going anywhere it pleases.
Basically, you’re given a black mat to use as the track. The developers of Anki used special inks and optical technology to create a track that we can’t see with our eyes, but that the car can still see or communicate with through the mat. The care itself has an infrared light on the bottom, making it possible for the car to calculate its own position on the mat and steer exactly where you want it to go.
When you touch the track, it feels just slightly tacky compared to the other parts of the mat. One of the things the developers did to maintain speed was change the surface of the track so that the cars could go fast without flying off into never-never land.
The mat itself can be rolled up for storage without causing any damage to its inner workings. This is a huge change from old-school tracks that had to be taken apart, ended up lost or broken beneath feet, or simply stopped working when the connecting wires became damaged.
I didn’t find an Anki Drive toy under my Christmas tree this year, but if you’re looking for auto gift ideas for birthdays, Father’s day, or even next holiday season, this is one you might seriously want to consider.
My kids will have to wait another couple of years, but me? I’m ready to start racing and I can’t wait to see how this company grows in the coming months. This is one incredibly innovative piece of technology and I’m seriously interested in seeing how the company grows and expands.