BMW is building a go-kart? No, we don’t mean a new Mini. The CarBuzz research team has just found a new patent from the German automaker that focuses on actual karts. It’s a way to let a track operator add new layouts and obstacles without actually adding layouts or obstacles. Wait, what?
Thanks to VR goggles, it’s all done with ones and zeroes.
The Track Knows Where You Are Before It Tells You Where To Go
Go Kart TrackEva Andria/Pexels
To be clear, this involves real go-karts driving on a real road surface. It isn’t a new kart like the ones Toyota and Porsche are designing, it’s more behind the scenes. In the patent, BMW’s engineers describe what they call big problems with current kart track design. Tracks must focus on safety, and visibility for fans is important. They also need to make the best use of their space.
Changing a track layout means focusing on all of those things every time, which is why your favorite indoor course hasn’t moved a barrier in 10 years. That’s where new smart glasses and a positioning system come into play.
The positioning system uses sensors set up around the karting surface that are meant to know exactly where each kart is at any moment. It needs to know within less than an inch where each kart is. It needs that level of detail because of what BMW’s plan is for the smart glasses. Instead of real barriers setting the apex of every turn or the outside of every straight, it would be a virtual barrier. A projection the driver can see through their glasses.
BMW M2 M Performance Track KitBMW
The track is then virtual, not real. The only things you can actually hit are the surface and the physical barriers that the track still needs for safety, and to keep you within the boundaries. If there’s no real track, how does this idea prevent cheating? Because the system knows exactly where you are and exactly where the virtual track’s borders are. As such, it can basically turn that virtual wall-hit into a real one by hitting the brakes.
Another aspect of this is course changes mid-race. The operator could add obstacles, like a new chicane, at any moment. The drivers would see it through their glasses and need to steer around it. It could even take over the steering to bring you back onto the actual track if you go “off.”
Is This A Mario Kart-Style Adventure Ready To Happen?
BMW Kart patent drawingBMW
That would let the track operator have a new track every day, every month, or even every lap. The track could even be adjusted to the skill level of each driver to try and make things more equal between drivers. Perfect for one of the next potential Olympic sports.
And if you’re thinking about a Mario Kart mode, we just became best friends. To be clear, the patent doesn’t mention anything like this. But with virtual walls and computer-controlled crash responses, it’s not hard to add in some shells for the drivers behind you to launch. It might not make you spin, but it could make you stop for a few seconds. And shortcuts should be possible too.
BMW said in the patent that using this system can locate vehicles within 10 mm at typical kart speeds. The display can react in almost real-time, making the course feel real to the drivers.
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
Mario Kart Promotional imageNintentdo
If you’re tired of your local track, this is the best idea to hit karting since electricity. It makes things more fun and more interesting, and even gives you better telemetry data against other drivers. And while the layout is virtual, the karts and the speed are still real. It sounds like the best of both worlds.
BMW, we know this isn’t your usual arena, but you need to make this happen.
Patent filings do not guarantee the use of such technology in future vehicles and are often used exclusively as a means of protecting intellectual property. Such a filing cannot be construed as confirmation of production intent.
Source: DPMA
