The future is now, and technology is altering the landscape of human experience faster than we can say George Jetson. In what is a very exciting time for tech geniuses and average consumers alike, startup companies are coming out of the woodwork to stake a claim on their virtual reality legacies. Anki is one such company to watch. In what is sure to be a game-changing moment in Information Age history, Anki combines artificial intelligence with real life to bring us something new.
Who is Anki?
Anki is a San-Fransisco based group of like-minded individuals with a clear vision: to normalize artificial intelligence in the home environment. Founded in 2010, Anki is the brainchild of Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute graduates who had a unifying vision: Robotics can be used to solve simple, everyday problems, and everyone should have access to those robotics. In other words, robotics aren’t just for sci-fi movies and multi-million dollar research labs anymore. They’re for everyone.
Anki DRIVE
Anki is hitting the scene in a major way with the Anki DRIVE. At first glance, Anki DRIVE might appear to be a toy racecar . . . which it very well is, but with a high-tech twist. Anki DRIVE is the first-ever “toy” car to be controlled remotely via iPhone. That’s right, you just download an app onto your iPhone to transform it into a controller for your Anki DRIVE car. Additionally, DRIVE operates on either a track (a floor mat embedded with a network of location markers for Anki’s onboard optical sensor) or a floor. Anki will release four different cars, each with their own strengths and weaknesses in terms of acceleration, agility, energy, recharge, and speed.
A Glowing Endorsement
Apple recently gave Anki DRIVE its seal of approval when it demo’d the new wave racecar to a packed-house developer conference last June. Media was quick to take note, and report on, this glowing endorsement . . . because Apple rarely stands behind fledgling startups in such a public way. Will consumers follow suit with glowing reviews? Try Anki DRIVE for yourself and you’ll see why many tech experts would reply to that question with an excited, “Yes!”
Get your hands on some Anki Robotics
True to the Anki mission, DRIVE will be readily available to the public, and for a can-do cost. Starting on October 2013, you can get your hands on some Anki robotics for around $200. Think that sounds like a lot for a remote controlled car? Think again. The Anki DRIVE sells for the equivalent of what slot cars sold for back when they were all the craze—that’s about $35 in the 1980s—only, it’s packed with the latest and greatest advances the robotics field has to offer.
The future is here, and it has brought Anki DRIVE with it. Play your part in the home robotics revolution and take one for a spin.