The toy that is a technological breakthrough

Google and many automakers should be watching very closely at what’s happening over at Anki. Their cars are pretty darn advanced.

Four months ago, Anki co-founder Boris Soffman took the stage at Apple’s WWDC keynote. After years of stealthily toiling away in their labs with few outside of the company knowing their plans, the team unveiled their first product: Anki Drive, a racing game for the real world.

While the company has been somewhat quiet since their WWDC debut, they’ve just announced their plans to ship: come Oct. 23rd, Anki Drive will hit the shelves on Anki.com and at Apple Stores around the country. The “base kit”, which includes two cars, a pair of charging pods, and a massive roll-out vinyl race track, will cost $199. Additional cars, two of which will be available at launch, will cost $69.