Play Mario Kart in Real Life with Wii Wheel

A group of Japanese tinkerers has created a working go kart that controlled by a Wii Remote embedded in a Wii Wheel.

Who hasn't played Mario Kart for hours and then got into your car wishing that you could shoot turtle shells and leave banana peels for your fellow travelers? While that technology is still a bit off, thankfully, Japanese engineering outfit Kuru Kuru has put together a prototype go cart that is controlled via a Wii Remote and a laptop computer.

The demonstration unit doesn't get quite up to Mario Kart-like speeds, and I don't see any blue shells or bombs being tossed around, but the proof of concept is still there. Acceleration, braking and steering is all controlled the same way as the videogame, although the steering doesn't look as responsive as it could be.

I think it is cool that one day we could go to an amusement park and use a Wii Wheel to play with real go carts. Add in some glasses that will overlay graphics with alternate reality rules (decelerating if you are hit with a shell or spin-out when hitting a banana peel) and we could seriously be playing Mario Kart in real life.

Source: Kuru Kuru labs