Anki revs up the race

Emirates Business

Battle-racing shifts into high gear as Anki — a robotics and artificial intelligence company —announces launch of their hit robotic battle-racing game, Anki OVERDRIVE, in the United Arab Emirates this summer. Anki OVERDRIVE is available at select Harvey Nichols and Virgin Megastore outlets across Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Following the massive success of Anki DRIVE, one of the hottest products of 2014 in the US and UK, Anki OVERDRIVE takes the groundbreaking battle-race experience in a new direction with state-of-the-art modular tracks, high-end car designs and new innovations in gameplay. Players can build their own battle-race courses within seconds and pit their real-life robotic supercars against their friends or step up against enemy AI commanders and their crews in the game’s campaign mode. Events like the ‘UAE AI & Robotics Award for Good’ are putting the nation at the forefront of robotics and innovation which is at the heart of Anki Overdrive.
“Anki OVERDRIVE represents a key step in a new industry still in its infancy, and an opportunity to make robotics and artificial intelligence accessible in our everyday lives,” said Boris Sofman, Anki founder and CEO. “With Anki OVERDRIVE coming to the UAE, we’re able to deliver a new form of play that brings an unprecedented level of customization, character personality and interaction to life in a physical game, establishing a new category of entertainment at the intersection of videogames, toys and robotics.”
Anki OVERDRIVE is battle-racing at its best where players control physical robotic supercars via handheld mobile devices. Each supercar is upgradable with unique virtual weapons and gadgets, and packs a 50mhz computer and camera that recognizes player-customized courses. Cars are capable of using AI to fully control themselves on the track as they use diverse strategies to fight to the finish.
The game also lets players build their own battlefields for all-out vehicular mayhem. The track pieces easily snap together via magnetic connectors allowing players to create and race on their own customized courses instantly. The modular track pieces use special ink and optics technologies to embed information that the high-tech vehicles scan 500 times per second to understand their position and steer precisely on any track configuration.
At launch in the UAE, the Anki OVERDRIVE Starter Kit will include two highly detailed supercars, 10 separate track pieces, a four-car charger, two risers and a tire cleaning kit. An additional four expansion cars and eight expansion track packs will be available for purchase allowing for nearly limitless track construction. Adding one expansion track pack like the Speed Kit or Corner Kit can expand the Starter Kit from eight possible track configurations to more than 20. Expansions track packs include:
• Collision Kit – Race into a lethal intersection, pick off your opponents as they speed past or take a short cut to chase them down. Watch out for devastating collisions and don’t get caught in the crossfire
• Speed Kit – Put the hammer down and outrun opponents or take aim and knock out the competition on these long straightaways
• Corner Kit – Take these turns at top speed. Or blast opponents before they disappear around the bend
• Launch Kit – Reach for the sky with jumps on the battlefield. Launch ahead, nail the landing, and smoke the competition
• Rails Kit – Slingshot into straightaways or drive the fight into corners. Guardrails ensure the chaos of battle stays on the tracks
• Elevation Kit – Take the battle to another level. Open up crazy track possibilities with hills, bridges, underpasses and more
• Bank Turn Kit – Race around corners at faster speeds and pull some serious G-forces

Supercars and Virtual Weapons (Skull and GroundShock in
Starter Kit):
• Skull – The car’s Pirate Core lets it sail across the track at high speed while its cannon rips through enemy hulls
• Groundshock – Its PowerStation Core electrifies the track with split-second maneuvering and lightning-fast attacks. Don’t get in its way
• Thermo – Its Magma Core engine is old-school meets future. Using hyper-charged internal combustion, it not only burns up the track, it projects fire at anyone in range
• Nuke – Its Fusion Core can be charged up to unleash ultra-high energy blasts that tear through normal shields. Its cool exterior masks an unstable explosive interior
• Guardian — The supercar’s Siren Core keeps the pursuit of victory going at full volume. Its piercing sonic attacks go right through armor and cause challengers to lose control
• Bigbang – This armor-plated heavyweight’s Graviton Core creates massive shockwaves that send foes flying off course