RFID

RFID or Radio Frequency Identification is a technology that allows wireless communication for devices at close range. When they are activated, these chips send data to a receiver. The data can be used to track and monitor almost anything. It’s an almost universal technology at this point — on one side, hailed as a revolution in data stream tracking, and on the other, named as a sign of the apocalypse by a girl in Texas.

Also in Texas, there is a company called Waterloo Labs where they have a real life Mario Kart track in that uses RFID chips to cause the carts to react in similar ways to the classic video game. Basically, when you drive the track, you pick up the “power ups” by driving over the RFID, and your cart will react the same way it would in the game.

For example, in Mario Kart, if you get a “star power up,” you will go full throttle, and everyone else slows down. If you get this power up on the real-world track, your cart will speed up and everyone else will have their brakes applied and the steering locked to emulate this same effect. Also, for the power ups that are thrown in the game, there is a cannon attached to the carts that you can fire at other carts, causing similar effects.

I thought this was an interesting and non-standard way to use what seems like a basically boring technology.

Here is a great article on this that I referenced when writing this article.