Hands-On: AnkiDrive Shows Off iOS-Powered Toy Car Racing [CES 2014]

By

Cult _of_Mac_CES_2014_80x80

LAS VEGAS — Remember Anki, the little iOS-powered toy car app that Apple brought up on stage for its World Wide Developers Conference last year?

We got to catch up with them at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show to talk about the app, the AI-controlled toy cars, and how they’ve created the latest must-have toy gadget with Apple’s help.

Honestly, they had us at “robotics and artificial intelligence.” What’s super exciting here is the ability to run up to four cars at once, with three of them racing you via the AI system. Very futuristic, this.

The company was founded in 2010 by Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute graduates and is backed by several funders in addition to Apple. Anki means to “learn by heart,” if you were wondering.

While the starter kit is a bit pricey at $199, it does come with two cars and the racing mat. Extra cars will cost $69 after that, but the app itself is free. Hooray!

AnkiDrive is available now at every Apple retail store in the US and Canada.

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.