If you’ve been following this site and our adventures for a little while, you may have already seen that The Rock Daughters are little speed demons. It’s hard to believe that they’ll be 4 & 7 this year, but if these past few years of parenting adventures have taught us anything, it’s that “faster!” is something of a mantra. It started with Addie, inspiration seemingly coming from Hot Wheels and Disney•Pixar’s CARS, and then Finley came along and she took things to a whole new level. These kids love to drive, and they love to go fast – and that shows in our garage (which has some interesting vehicles). The 2.5mph 6-Volt rides don’t cut it, and the 5mph 12-volt have an expiration date that’s not too far off. And, while both girls have done gas-powered rides, for home use, electric is the way to go. So now comes Actev Motors and their ARROW SMART-KART, “the first smart electric go-kart for kids” ages 5-9. Check this out..
First off, it looks like it’s cut from the same DNA as professional, gas-powered Karts (thanks to the wheels and optional body kits), but the “smart” features look to be truly smart… allowing parental control. I’ve spent a lot of time chasing down runaway vehicles piloted by kids that like to test the boundaries of where they can go – how far they can go – beyond where mommy and daddy said they could. With the Arrow Smart-Kart, you can program that – from a pre-planned safe driving zone, to the speed at which the kids can travel.
From the Official Announcement: The Arrow, designed by professional racecar drivers and inspired by technology in today’s most advanced cars, comes with a sleek design and is packed with performance and safety features. Young drivers are guaranteed an exciting driving experience while parents can supervise on their iOS or Android device through the Arrow app.
The Arrow Smart-Kart, sized for kids five to nine years old, can be easily configured to match each driver’s skill level. Arrow combines the excitement of a real driving experience with the confidence of parental supervision via the Arrow mobile app. The app connects to the Smart-Kart via WiFi and equips parents with several safety features:
- Adjustable maximum speed limit (up to 12 mph)
- Collision avoidance automatically stops Arrow if an obstacle is detected
- Emergency stop button immediately halts Arrow
- Geo-fencing prevents the driver from going outside a parent-defined geographic boundary
- Inactivity timer alerts the parent if Arrow is motionless for a selectable time period
Kids will love personalizing their driving experience by downloading synthesized engine sounds from an online sound library. The Arrow app also lets kids monitor stats such as total driving time, total distance and maximum speed. In the coming months, a growing list of accessories will become available for the Arrow Smart-Kart, including custom body kits, drifting wheel rings, a Formula-1 inspired steering wheel, distance-sensing ‘smart cones’, laser tag sensors and gaming apps. With the debut of the Arrow Smart-Kart, Actev Motors enters the toy industry with the goal of transforming the kid’s ride-on vehicle market. Based in Silicon Valley, the company is creating fun, safe and affordable children’s vehicles by leveraging technology found in today’s smartphones and most advanced cars.
The Arrow Smart-Kart, priced at $599.95, is now available to pre-order online and will begin shipping in early summer 2016. Right now, the pre-order price includes free upgrades.
