Anyone who has ever seen Back to the Future Part 2 has no doubt spent the best part of the last few decades longing for the day when the likes of self-tying shoelaces and hoverboards would become a tangible reality. Well the wait is almost over (at least for the latter), as engineer Greg Henderson has recently unveiled a working prototype. Whilst it's currently only at the prototype stage, a board could eventually be yours if you have a spare $10,000 (roughly £6,200) lying around and care very little for your own personal safety. The project is being funded through Kickstarter, with $10,000 earning backers one of the ten proposed first production models, which they will be presented with at the hoverboards VIP launch event on the 21st of October next year. Those without so much disposable income can also blag themselves a test ride on a board for $1,000, a replica model (sans hover engines) for $449 or a “Developer Kit” for $299, which includes a Hendo hover engine set, allowing buyers to design their very own hovering marvels.
Whilst it's currently only at the prototype stage, a board could eventually be yours if you have a spare $10,000 (roughly £6,200) lying around
The board is named the “Hendo” after its inventor, and uses the same kind of electromagnetic levitation technology as maglev trains, only on a much smaller scale. Of course, the downside of this is that the overboard will only work on a special magnetic surface, so you won't be skimming over ponds and kick-flipping through traffic on your way to work just yet. The board utilises what its inventor calls “Magnetic field architecture,” which essentially describes the process of focusing magnetic fields. Of course, Henderson is remaining tight-lipped on the specifics (despite having “Patented the hell out of the idea,” but the principals are that a highly focused magnetic field can be controlled and tweaked, allowing hoverboard riders to steer and find balance with (relative) ease.
Hendo Hoverboard – The World's First Hoverboard
Whilst the rider can provide propulsion in the regular manner, the board can potentially also be driven by altering the forces projected on the surface it's travelling on. The kit that users can purchase from the Kickstarter page also allows users to control the hover engines via iOS or Android mobile devices, meaning that theoretically, thrill seeker of the future could use their smartphones to steer their hoverboards. This is just one possible use of the technology, and it's the possibilities that the husband and wife team of Greg and his wife Jill wish to highlight with the project. They believe the same technology could be used to potentially move buildings, effectively making them earthquake and flood proof.
It's the possibilities of the hoverboard's technology that the husband and wife team of Greg and his wife Jill really wish to highlight with the project
The key innovation of the Hendo, however seems to be the energy efficient levitation system, which would prove significantly more cost-effective than current maglev systems. But this is just a small stepping-stone towards a future where cost-effective and efficient magnetic levitation technology makes its way into the mainstream. As Henderson himself said; “What we’re trying to do is to capture people’s attention because the hoverboard is a proof of concept for demonstrating a technology that can have a lot of really important issues.” He says there are “Ideas that people are floating around, no pun intended, that are really important,” and his wife adds “There are so many more meaningful, purposeful things (for) this limitless core technology.” Hovercakes anyone?
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and musician from Kidderminster in the UK who has coveted a hoverboard since he was in primary school. For $10,000 though, he'd probably prefer to hold off and save up for a time travelling Delorean.
