When the tantalizing idea of a hoverboard was first introduced in Back to the Future II, it quickly became the holy grail of sci-fi gadgetry. After all, the combination of a skateboard and the ability to fly — albeit at a very low altitude — was one almighty convergence of coolness, only added to by the apparent impossibility of such a technology arriving any time soon.
But that was 1989; this is 2014, and in another twelve months’ time, startup Hendo Hover plans to release the world’s first fully-functional hoverboard.
In fact, the technology is ready today. Hendo has a working prototype, which is pretty jaw-dropping in its own right. Four electromagnetic field motors on the underside of the board generate an opposing force, causing the board to levitate about an inch off the ground, even with a person (weighing up to 300lbs) standing on it.
It is a similar technology to that employed by Maglev trains, meaning that friction is a forgotten force. Making forward progress, then, requires very little effort, but trying to get the board moving in the desired direction is a lot harder than when wheels provide a point of ground contact. But boy, does it look fun…
There is also one catch though. It can only glide over surfaces like copper and aluminum...
To some degree, though, none of that really matters. Gadget lovers will be happy that it works at all, and for Hendo, the board is proof of concept and a marketing exercise. In fact, the primary focus of Hendo’s Kickstarter campaign is to make the levitation technology available to everyone.
