The Real FX race car system brings slot car racing into the modern age with smart cars that know where they are on the track while giving the drivers complete freedom of control.
Wow! Labs has created a unique race car toy that sports some high-tech features. First off, the track. The Starter Track Set will include 12 flexible, durable and lightweight printed race track segments. The Pro-Racing Track Set will include 39 segments. The track segments click together in less than a second and can be configured into multiple layouts. The segments also have a unique gradient pattern that the cars can read to identify where the car is located on the track.
Next are the cars and controllers. The cars have built-in front & back opto-sensors that read the track in real time & communicate with their Smart Controller. The Smart Controllers communicate with the cars and other players using wireless 2.4GHz, allowing dynamic pairing for multiple players without interference. Smart Controllers also include audio for in-race announcements and game setup guidance, and multi-color LEDs to indicate status.
According to the company’s Kickstarter page:
For the first time ever you can truly race against other players, or a ‘virtual opponent’ in the confines of your front room. Artificial Intelligence will assist you to stay on the track, but you need to use your skill to be the fastest driver in the race, overtake or undertake your opponents, deal with track hazards, from tire blowouts to oil spills, and comply with pit-stop call-ins.
And just like in video gaming, with RealFX you don’t need another physical player in the room to still compete in a race. You simply add the second car, switch its handset to ‘Pace Car’ mode and race against it! It’s Artificial Intelligence means it will drive around the track and compete against you!
Lightweight, affordable & patented ‘1-Sec-Connect’ track segments click into place in less than1 second, allowing you to make a full size track layout in less than a minute – and take it down in the same time (well, usually even quicker). Go round chairs, under tables, or even from room to room.
Unlike slot racing, you are not ‘stuck in a rut’. With RealFX you are free to overtake or undertake other cars at any point on the track. Learn expert moves like power slides, and if you do take a corner too fast, or collide and spin off, you can just hit the ‘R/C’ button to switch into normal radio control mode, and drive straight back onto the track.
After watching the videos on the Kickstarter site I have to agree with the company statement that RealFX is “the car racing system we wished for when we were kids!”
The company anticipates a retail price for the Starter Set to be somewhere around GB£ 140 – 150 ($250 U.S.). Currently they have raised roughly half of their GB£ 50,000 goal. You can find the company’s Kickstarter page here.
