With no special hardware in the track, and only a rudimentary image sensor and microcontroller in the car, just how does Anki Drive work?

Looking closely at the track, we found its surface is covered in tiny ridges of varied patterns.

With unique patterns along the track, the Anki car can read a single mark and know exactly where it is—then read a second and know where it's going, and at what speed.

As excited as we are for a car that can drive by Braille, we worry that new dents (caused by an ill-placed foot or overexcited dog) might confuse the racers' sensors.