Anki Overdrive cars are little robots: they read optical codes printed on the track, know which piece and which lane they are on, and take speed and lane commands over Bluetooth LE. Anki closed in 2019 and the official app is no longer available, but the cars still work. Overdrive Arena is a Python application that drives them from a Windows PC with Xbox or PS5 controllers, scans your track layout by having the cars drive one lap, shows them live on a map, lines them up on a starting grid, and runs races or battles with blasters and mines. This is what it does and what I learned about the protocol along the way.
