Thinking up weird things that can connect to the USB slots in a computer is now something of an art form.
Today’s invention brings an element of gaming to the USB toys arena.
A modified thumbdrive consists of two parts as shown. The outer part contains a small motor, powered from the computer. This drives a spindle with a wire wrapped around it.
The rate at which the motor winds in the outer part of the drive ( a ‘car’ which is free to roll on a set of small wheels) depends on eg how quickly the computer user can answer questions on the screen. The completion time would be recorded on the computer for each competitor.
Other games for ubergeeks might involve storing programs on the thumbdrive eg intended to ‘bid’ competitively for processing resources from the CPU in order to make their car move inwards faster.
Several adjacent USB slots would allow a parallel car race to be simulated.
