Ever since Marty McFly rode on one in 1989’s hit film “Back to the Future Part II,” fans have dreamed of having their own levitating skateboard, or “hoverboard.”<\/p>\n
That wish has now come true, as engineers in Northern California have turned the futuristic device into reality.<\/p>\n
The Hendo Hoverboard levitates on conductive surfaces: defying gravity, it floats about an inch above the ground, powered by four disc-shaped magnetic engines.<\/p>\n
That means you can ride it just like a skateboard on a ramp-style platform, albeit one made only of metal or otherwise electricity-conducting material, to produce the magnetic field.<\/p>\n
It can move speedily, if noisily, in multiple directions, as well as turn around. The battery only lasts seven minutes, but that is still enough time to take a grown adult for an exhilarating ride.<\/p>\n
The technology that propels it is called Magnetic Field Architecture, developed by the startup company Arx Pax, which turned to the Kickstarter crowdfunding website to raise so-called seed money to bring it to market.<\/p>\n
“We want to seed this hover ecosystem by putting the technology into the hands of all those tinkerers,” said Jill Avery Henderson, co-founder and chief operating officer of Arx Pax.<\/p>\n
The board itself — which is partly made by a 3D printer — levitates on top of conductive materials such as aluminum or a copper half-pipe, which its makers have been using to show off their device.<\/p>\n
Arx Pax chief executive Greg Henderson, who founded the company with his wife, explained the technology behind it.<\/p>\n
“We are creating a magnetic field, and then through a method of induction, that’s part of our secret sauce, we are creating a secondary and equal magnetic field in this conductive surface,” he said.<\/p>\n
And the couple believe their technology could be used for all sorts of purposes, even for example designing more earthquake-resistant buildings — a particular concern in quake-prone California.<\/p>\n
In theory with more powerful magnets, an entire building could be made to float off the ground, albeit briefly.<\/p>\n
“Imagine there’s an earthquake and the early warning turns on the warning systems and the (concrete or other physical) supports fall away as the building starts to hover,” said Henderson.<\/p>\n
“The shaking stops, the supports return, and no one in that room or in that building ever knew there was an earthquake.”<\/p>\n
The pioneering pair long ago reached their target of $250,000 on Kickstarter, and the first 10 hoverboards — costing $10,000 apiece –have sold out in advance.<\/p>\n
But for far less money amateur inventors can get their hands on a developer kit — and theoretically use the technology to make anything hover. “Curious minds, the power of many minds as Greg likes to say,” said Jill.<\/p>\n
“By putting this technology in their hands, we’ll be able to solve problems we didn’t even know exist.”<\/p>\n
Charge your gadgets before flying to Britain<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n