A California startup, Arx Pax, is building an actual working hoverboard, like the one first seen in Back to the Future Part II and they already have a working prototype. Called Hendo, the creators are currently trying to solicit funds from Kickstarter to make hover technology a reality.
Of course, at this stage, it isn’t quite as awesome as Marty McFly’s hoverboard in the movie, as it can hover around maybe an inch or two off the ground. This however, is the closest thing we’ve seen so far to making that oft dreamed about gadget a reality. So how far has development gone for Hendo? It is self powered and the levitating platform can sufficiently carry a single adult. Fact is, the current prototype can carry around 135kg easily and Arx Pax is planning for a version that will eventuall be able to carry around 225kgs in the future.
There’s also another catch, the Hendo hoverboard needs specific surface, namely non-ferrous material such as copper or aluminum to work. That’s because it uses a concept similar to that of the Maglev train technology. So for now, you can forget about using it on a tarmac road or any other surface. However, should these take off, it does bring some pretty interesting potentials to not only something simple as skateboarding, but for general transportation as a whole.
Greg Henderson, the inventor of the Hendo board imagines that one day this technology can be used to lift houses safely during natural disasters, which is his long term objective of this invention.
The company is aiming for and October 21, 2015 launch, which is coincidentally the date when Marty McFly arrived in the future. It’s not going to be cheap though as the price tag of the hoverboard is expected to be US$10,000 (around RM30,000 plus).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plwX5NtF530
Source: Kickstarter
