Marty McFly’s Future Realized: Behold The Hendo Hoverboard
Holy mackerel, it happened! Somebody actually went and built an honest-to-goodness hoverboard, finally bringing to reality the fantasy we've all shared since seeing Marty McFly escape from Biff and his cronies using a hoverboard in Back to the Future II! We know what you're thinking -- 'Yeah, right, this isn't the first hoverboard hoax' -- but you have to check this out.
The company is called Hendo Hover and you'll currently find the faces behind the team over at Kickstarter. They're trying to raise $250,000 for the project, but that money won't go towards a prototype -- such a thing already exists. At present, the Hendo Hoverboard is capable of hovering about an inch off of the ground, special shoes not required.
So, what is the money for? The funds will go towards finishing touches, mass production, and building specialized "hoverparks" where you can ride them. And that's the really the catch (besides cost) -- you can't just grab a hoverboard and go floating around your block. Instead, it requires a specialized surface that works with its hover engines. More specifically, the surface in question has to be a non-ferromagnetic conductor.
As you might have guessed, magnets are involved here, though it's not as simple as putting one magnet over the other with the same poles facing to make the top part float. Due to Earnshaw's Theorem, a stable static equilibrium between two magnets isn't possible. Sure, there have been ways around this roadblock, but none that are practical, Hendo says.
"Lenz’s law explains how eddy currents are created when magnets are moved relative to a conductive material. These eddy currents in turn create an opposing magnetic field in the conductor. Our core technology, which we call Magnetic Field Architecture (MFA™), focuses this field more efficiently," Hendo explains.
"The Hendo Hoverboard is a first-step product, a precursor to the broader implementation of the world-changing technology of MFA," Hendo continues. "It enables a new generation of lift and motion technology that will change the way we view transportation. Additional applications for MFA technology are virtually limitless - from business, to industry, to healthcare, and beyond."
According to Hendo, the hover system its team of designers came up with is comparatively inexpensive and completely sustainable. It's also maneuverable -- the actions that stabilize the hoverboard can also be used to to drive it forward by altering the projected force on the surface below. How rad is that?
If you'd like to back the project, head over to the Hendo Hoverboard Kickstarter page and check out the gnarly reward tiers that are available.
The company is called Hendo Hover and you'll currently find the faces behind the team over at Kickstarter. They're trying to raise $250,000 for the project, but that money won't go towards a prototype -- such a thing already exists. At present, the Hendo Hoverboard is capable of hovering about an inch off of the ground, special shoes not required.
So, what is the money for? The funds will go towards finishing touches, mass production, and building specialized "hoverparks" where you can ride them. And that's the really the catch (besides cost) -- you can't just grab a hoverboard and go floating around your block. Instead, it requires a specialized surface that works with its hover engines. More specifically, the surface in question has to be a non-ferromagnetic conductor.
As you might have guessed, magnets are involved here, though it's not as simple as putting one magnet over the other with the same poles facing to make the top part float. Due to Earnshaw's Theorem, a stable static equilibrium between two magnets isn't possible. Sure, there have been ways around this roadblock, but none that are practical, Hendo says.
"Lenz’s law explains how eddy currents are created when magnets are moved relative to a conductive material. These eddy currents in turn create an opposing magnetic field in the conductor. Our core technology, which we call Magnetic Field Architecture (MFA™), focuses this field more efficiently," Hendo explains.
"The Hendo Hoverboard is a first-step product, a precursor to the broader implementation of the world-changing technology of MFA," Hendo continues. "It enables a new generation of lift and motion technology that will change the way we view transportation. Additional applications for MFA technology are virtually limitless - from business, to industry, to healthcare, and beyond."
According to Hendo, the hover system its team of designers came up with is comparatively inexpensive and completely sustainable. It's also maneuverable -- the actions that stabilize the hoverboard can also be used to to drive it forward by altering the projected force on the surface below. How rad is that?
If you'd like to back the project, head over to the Hendo Hoverboard Kickstarter page and check out the gnarly reward tiers that are available.
