Fans create real life Mario Kart go-karts, turtle shells included

We’ve seen plenty of Mario Kart fans dress up and race around go-kart tracks before, but the team from National Instruments at Waterloo Labs have taken the dream one step further by throwing modified go-karts and real weapons into the mix.

Each go-kart packs in its own router, RFID reader and air cannon, while players grab hanging overhead weapons as they race round the track. When each RFID-enabled weapon comes into contact with another car, a modified automatic braking system kicks in, slowing down the go-kart and making it veer off the track.

From shooting out soft turtle plushies to leaving banana peels on the track, you’ll definitely want to check out the video below, complete with authentic music and sound effects.

Skip straight to 2:22 to get straight into the action.

[WaterlooLabs via PocketLint]

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Dan Grabham Editor-in-Chief

About

Dan is Editor-in-chief of Stuff, working across the magazine and the Stuff.tv website.  Our Editor-in-Chief is a regular at tech shows such as CES in Las Vegas, IFA in Berlin and Mobile World Congress in Barcelona as well as at other launches and events. He has been a CES Innovation Awards judge. Dan is completely platform agnostic and very at home using and writing about Windows, macOS, Android and iOS/iPadOS plus lots and lots of gadgets including audio and smart home gear, laptops and smartphones. He's also been interviewed and quoted in a wide variety of places including The Sun, BBC World Service, BBC News Online, BBC Radio 5Live, BBC Radio 4, Sky News Radio and BBC Local Radio.

Areas of expertise

Computing, mobile, audio, smart home