If you’re big on technology and you make it a point to stay abreast of the latest in this rapidly changing market sector, then it’s likely you’ve already heard at least a little something about a start-up called ANKI. If you haven’t yet learned about this exciting new player in the world of technology, then it’s time you do. This is what you need to know about the robotics start-up, ANKI:

A start-up with a clear vision. ANKI is a San Francisco-based company that was established in 2006 by a group of graduates from the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University. The big thinkers who founded ANKI had a vision to bring modern robotics into the modern household—to solve common everyday problems using artificial intelligence, and to make those solutions available to even the average Joe. Many industry experts are saying that ANKI is doing exactly what it set out to do.

ANKI Drive. ANKI’s premier product, which hit the market in October of 2013, is the ANKI Drive. It might look like just another slickly-designed remote control car . . . only, it’s so much more. The ANKI Drive is the first-ever “toy car” of its kind. Why? For starters, it can guide itself, with or without a track. It does this by way of an on-board optic sensor that communicates data about the car’s position to the car’s controller, with happens to be your iPhone (by way of a free ANKI iPhone app). Additionally, the ANKI Drive is equipped with weaponry that allows for play with other ANKI Drive cars in some groundbreaking ways; for example, your ANKI Drive might have the ability to remotely weaken another car’s power, or even to slow a competing car’s speed. There simply is no comparable toy car.

Apple endorsement. The ANKI Drive made its initial entrance into the market via an unveiling at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference, when Apple CEO Tim Cook demonstrated the product for a packed house of wide-eyed onlookers. Not only was the crowd wowed by the ANKI Drive, itself, but also by the fact, alone, that Apple did something for ANKI that it has never previously done for any other unknown start-up. Why did Apple endorse ANKI in such a way? Because the ANKI Drive represents a creative and powerful new way of using the Apple iOS, and it is likely there will be many copycat product developers following that lead.

Interested in getting even more familiar with ANKI? If so, you can purchase your very own ANKI Drive for just under $200 after looking at some Anki Drive review sites on your own. Before you dismiss this new wave of remote control car on account of price, consider the fact that the very popular slot cars of the 1980s were comparatively priced (when you account for inflation), and that there is quite possibly no more fun, or less expensive, way to introduce cutting edge artificial intelligence into your home.