Movie fans have been patiently waiting for visions from the classic 80s film Back to the Future to come true.
We have been promised flying cars and clothes that adjust to our bodies. While those breakthroughs may still be years down the road, at least one of the fictional advancements that appeared in the movie trilogy may appear in our near future.
The Hendo hoverboard, which promises to levitate riders one inch off the ground, is the subject of a Kickstarter campaign that has so far raised more than $200,000. While the hoverboard may be the missing piece to your Marty McFly Halloween costume, creators of the device are keeping mum about its links to Robert Zemeckis' science fiction film franchise in an effort to dodge legal entanglements.
"Yep, there was a movie. However, our attorneys have told us not to go there. So this is as far as we'll take it," the campaign's Kickstarter page reads.
The Hendo hoverboard, which its creators claim to be the "world's first real hoverboard," works through four disc-shaped hover engines that create a magnetic field. The magnetic field from the hover engines pushes against itself to generate the lift that levitates the board.
The technology used for the hoverboard has long been in existence. However, the team behind the Hendo claims to be the first to align it for real-world applications.
"Levitation using magnets seems simple -- just put one magnet over another, same poles facing, and the top one will float. Voila, right? Sadly, as we all find out (usually as heartbroken little kids) this never works. Due to something called Earnshaw's Theorem, a stable static equilibrium between two magnets is impossible. There have been a number of ways around this, but none have proven feasible enough for everyday applications. Until now," the Hendo hoverboard Kickstarter page reads.
The Hendo team calls the core technology for the device Magnetic Field Architecture. The MFA is based on Lenz's Law, a statement relating to electromagnetism that explains how the movement of magnets relative to a conductive material produces eddy currents (circular electric currents). According to the Hendo team, they have found a way to efficiently channel the opposing magnetic fields that eddy currents produce.
For now, it's not possible to put the Hendo hoverboard down on the pavement and kick away to shake off futuristic bullies. Currently, it only works on a specialized skate park with floors covered in sheets of non-ferromagnetic conducting material.
Getting the Hendo hoverboard before everyone else does requires a hefty endowment. You would need to pledge $10,000 to get one of the first 10 production hoverboards. Aside from the hoverboard, the Hendo team is also offering a hover developer kit called Whitebox for $299.
