TOYOLOGY Toyology-The Action Men of the batteries not included industry
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It seems like there are a lot of toys taking advantage of smart device technology.
Classics like Furby have been reinvented with smart features, while the award-winning Teksta included smart support. Just last week we saw dress-up costumes with a smartphone slot.
And why not? These devices are now in the hands of most people and are readily available to add processing power and touch-screen controls to enhance play.
Now it’s the turn of slot-racing, with Scalextric RCS…
On the surface it looks like a traditional Scalextric setup with the track, power base and two controllers – until an iPhone, iPad or similar smart device slots into a nifty stand and connects via bluetooth, allowing Scalextric RCS owners a level of features never before seen in slot-racing.
With the Scalextric RCS app, players can select different race types, see race times and keep track of fastest laps. Other statistics, such as green light reaction times are also available.
Other features include virtual fuel gauge, so when the player runs out of gas they’ll have to turn in for a pit stop.
Players can also tinker with individual throttle levels, adjusting the power curves to accommodate trigger happy players. In the event of a car coming off the track, there’s an option to reduce the power of other cars on the track, creating a virtual ‘safety car’, like in Formula 1.
Scalextric RCS owners can also look at different track layouts – if additional track is required the RCS app will kindly show the person which pieces they need to purchase in order to construct the track.
It’s all sophisticated stuff. Maker Hornby says Scalextric RCS will be available around June or July for £99.99 – which is actually a fairly standard price.
Check out the video below, filmed at London Toy Fair 2014, to see it in action.
Scalextric RCS video
video courtsey of slotmagazine.co.uk.
