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Hot Wheels AI is the love child of slot cars and Roomba
Model cars and track racing are the bread and butter of Hot Wheels, but they might look a little long in the tooth compared with flashy console games like Gran Turismo and Need for Speed. With the new Hot Wheels AI set, toy autos get a bit of a boost -- not just in speed, but in intelligence. Now you can race against a computer in the real world, right there on your living room rug.
Audi goes arty, crafts A4 replica slot cars for 'quattro experience' installation (video)
Audi and art? Those two worlds aren't ones we'd necessarily lump together. But the luxury car-maker's done just that, collaborating with Slot Mods USA to create the "quattro experience," an installation replete with remote controllable A4 replicas and a custom track. Let's be clear, though, this is no mere hobbyist recreation. As the accompanying mini-documentary shows, the team behind this project not only put great care into constructing the 20ft x 7ft custom track with the right bends, it also faithfully crafted the slot cars so as to mimic the Audi quattro's all wheel drive mechanic. So, how'd they do that? Through a combo of 3D printing, a four-wheel drive chassis and, most importantly, a calculated arrangement of traction magnets, the crew was able to get the cars up and running, and even outfitted with in-dash cams. And, in an appropriate modernist twist, there's an app for all of that -- a custom one designed by Audi that runs on the iPad and lets "drivers" steer via a POV feed and onscreen controls. Unfortunately, the whole shebang's only on display in Toronto for the time being. So, unless you're planning a trip to the Great White North anytime soon, the mini-doc after the break's about as close as you're going to get to the real thing.
Mario Kart DS slot car set is designed to prevent snaking
"Sunday, SUNDAY, Sunday, come on down to the Mario Kart DS Slot Car Race Track for some wild, no-rules racing action! Bring the whole family for an afternoon of Mario Kart-style toy racing excitement! Watch some of the best drivers in the business, including YOU and YOUR FRIENDS, take on one of the toughest tracks there is! You'll see twists and turns, thrills and spills, only at the Mario Kart DS Slot Car Race Track! Pay for the whole seat, but you'll only use the edge."Wow, we didn't even buy one of these slot car sets and we're already having fun with it. Anyone up for simulating the Mario Kart experience in ... well, not real life, but miniature fake real life?[Via NeoGAF]
