The last time we encountered the hoverboard, it was pretty much dead. An effective ban by the U.S. government has made it more or less impossible to get a hoverboard here, and other embargoes from airlines, public property in major cities like New York City and other bans in places as far as Denmark seemed to put a kibosh on the entire enterprise.
However, it seems that hoverboard manufacturers in China, the country responsible for the boom of the misnomered self-balancing scooter, are looking to fight back against myriad viral videos of exploding scooters by instituting industry-wide safety standards and restore the hoverboard to its former place of glory.
As originally reported by Quartz, over 100 different businesses dedicated to the hoverboard industry — everything from sellers to suppliers to makers — have created a united front in a trade organization called the Hoverboard Industry Alliance.
The Alliance, which met on March 3 for its second conference, plans to work with manufacturers in the U.S. to create a set of globally-standardized safety regulations.
As Quartz wrote:
"For example, manufacturers preparing to ship their devices to the U.S. can turn to the association for guidance on how to apply for a UL certification, which most U.S. retailers require before they will sell any electronic devices. Or, a manufacturer looking to make hoverboards could ask the association how to obtain a patent license for the device in China."
One of the Alliance's biggest incentives, however, might be its outreach goal with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) — the federal organization whose official investigation on hoverboard safety that launched in December 2015 led to a widespread purge of the two-wheelers from retailers like Amazon. The pull — as well as the CPSC's de facto ban of hoverboard sales in the U.S. — has put a sizable dent in the hoverboard market, so lobbying for a possible reversal is more or less imperative for the sustainment of the industry.
As Quartz also pointed out, the association has started to collect data on hoverboard sales at home and abroad, and estimated that $4.6 billion was put in to the industry. While Quartz is unsure as to whether this year's sales will be a sufficient match, we have yet to see whether the Hoverboard Industry Alliance will be able to keep the market afloat for a 2016 to 2017 annual comparison.
The hoverboard is dead. Long live the hoverboard.
Source: Quartz
Photo: Automobile Italia | Flickr
