Hoverboards

10 May

Hoverboards

Every since Marty McFly's hoverboard, appeared in Back to the Future Part II it sparked off the question ….. Would we riding Mattel Hoverboards in 2015 ? well …

October 21, 2015, came and passed (the date Back to the Future II was set in), and still no pink hoverboard were floating around the streets.

Although some new toy products did get released, they did use the name Hoverboard, but didn’t actually Hover as they still had wheels, with flashing lights and Bluetooth speakers they has everything bar the long awaited ‘hover’ mode, so how could they call them Hoverboards ?

Fast forward to the end of 2020 and now people are searching for ‘Best Hoverboards in 2020, One Wheel Hoverboards, Seats for Hoverboard, even Bluetooth Hoverboards, but the problem is still the same, they do not levitate and require at least one wheel or two.

So what about a real Hover Board that can actually levitate off the ground. Is this something for the Future or can we buy one today ?

Well, Yes and No

Of course Hoverboards don’t work on water (in the film, but later you will see how one inventor made this happen). The thought of riding a floating skateboard board has been the dream of Si/Fi and Back to the Future fans since the film was released in 1989.

Lets explore the possibilities

How does a hoverboard work ? There are two main ways - either it could sit on a cushion of air, or use Maglev superconductors

But levitating skateboards are already here. They might not anywhere near as commonplace as the Back to the Future universe foretold, but that doesn't mean the tech will never reach the streets, or at least a few inches above them

Other gadgets from the the film did make it though such as : self-lacing Nike Mags, large flat screen T.V’s, google glasses ! But where are all the hoverboards, well ……

These 3 companies have made functional hoverboards, to varying levels of success.

Hendo Hover

Hendo Hover. The company behind the hoverboard, called Arx Pax, is mainly focused on harnessing electromagnetic energy through its Magnetic Field Architecture (MFA) system to create more sustainable, "floating" foundations for structures in the face of extreme weather.

In 2013, (launched on Kickstarter) with a developer's kit the next year and showed up in its first public prototype form ,with none other than skateboarding legend Tony Hawks

The Hendo board is a fun side project that serves as a proof of concept for the MFA system. Hendo Hoverboard is one of Time magazine's 25 Best Inventions of 2014

The Hendo design uses disc-shaped magnetic hover engines located on the bottom of the board. These depend on an opposing magnetic field, found on a specialized surface below to provide lift.

Currently, this surface substrate needs to be a non-ferromagnetic conductor. Right now we use commonly available metals in simple sheets, but they were working on new compounds and new configurations to maximize the technology and minimize costs.

Dimensions: 10" x 10" x 5" (25cm x 25cm x 12cm) - Individual Engine Dimensions: 4.5" diameter x 2" high (11.5cm x 5cm) -

Hover Height: 1/4" - 1/2" (1cm - 1.5cm)

Battery Life: 10-15 min

Charge Time: 1-2 hrs

Weight: 10-12 lbs (4.5 kg)

Payload: ~ 5 lbs (3 kg)

Watch the video

Unfortunately, you can't just ride it anywhere -- but the system does actually allow riders to truly hover off the ground. It hovers 15cm above the floor, the battery lasts just a few minutes. And $10,000 (£7,500) a pop?

Version 2.0 of the Hendo launched in 2015, which was the last we heard Arx Pax about board development, as the company has focused on applying its MFA tech in other areas.

How does a real hoverboard work ? Levitation

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 this never works, this is 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.

Here’s where we get very technical (just for a few minuet) ……

Earnshaw’s theorem states that “A charged particle cannot be held [statically] in a stable equilibrium by electrostatic forces alone.” (Griffiths, p.115)

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. The core technology called Magnetic Field Architecture (MFA™), focuses this field more efficiently.

Earnshaw's theorem states that a collection of point charges cannot be maintained in a stable stationary equilibriumconfiguration solely by the electrostatic interaction of the charges. This was first proven by British mathematician Samuel Earnshaw in 1842. It is usually referenced to magnetic fields, but was first applied to electrostatic fields.

Earnshaw's theorem applies to classical inverse-square law forces (electric and gravitational) and also to the magnetic forces of permanent magnets, if the magnets are hard (the magnets do not vary in strength with external fields). Earnshaw's theorem forbids magnetic levitation in many common situations.

If the materials are not hard, Braunbeck's extension shows that materials with relative magnetic permeability greater than one (paramagnetism) are further destabilising, but materials with a permeability less than one (diamagnetic materials) permit stable configurations.

You can go ahead and google both of these scientific principles, but to sum it up in regards to levitation: Lenz = Easy, Earnshaw = Hard.

The Hendo Hoverboard is a first-step product, a precursor to the broader implementation of the world-changing technology of MFA. 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.

Unlike magnetic levitation systems employed today, hover systems are comparably inexpensive and completely sustainable. Hovering modes of transportation are now possible and practical. Lifting a wide range of loads - whether it's a person riding a hoverboard (what we were all expecting) or a building riding out an earthquake (what we never imagined could be possible) - is all within reach.

Omni Hoverboards

Canadian inventor Alexander Duru’s Omni's hoverboard design takes a different route to get its passenger in the air, using a system of propellors to take to the sky -- it goes much higher than just hovering a few inches above the ground. It's closer to a drone than a skateboard, evoking less of a Marty McFly vibe and more like something the Green Goblin from Spider-Man might use to fly around.

In the course of 1 year Catalin Alexandru Duru, developed his first prototype before setting out to break the Guinness World Record for the longest flight on a hoverboard back in May 2015. He only needed to fly 50 meters (about 165 feet) to break the previous mark -- but he wound up zooming around for 275.9 meters (905 feet 2 inches) at heights of up to five meters (16 feet), obliterating the record in the process.

Watch the video

That mark was by a jet-powered rig, but Duru continues to hone his craft, taking it to France for flight demos and showing it off in a Hyatt ad to cap off 2016.

Specifications:

Aircraft type: eVTOL hoverboard prototype
Piloting: 1 pilot
Flight control: Unknown
Cabin: None, the pilot stands using snow boarding straps to keep your feet locked onto the aircraft
Flight time: 1.5 minutes
Propellers: 8
Electric Motors: 8
Batteries: 8 lithium polymer batteries, generating about 40 horsepower
Length: Unknown, possibly 2.5 meters wide (over 8 feet wide)
Landing gear: 4 fixed landing legs
Safety Features: Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP), provides safety through redundancy for its passengers and/or cargo. DEP means having multiple propellers and motors on the aircraft so if one or more motors or propellers fail, the other working motors and propellers can safely land the aircraft.

Resources:

Omni Hoverboards website
Omni Hoverboards Facebook
Omni Hoverboards Twitter
Omni Hoverboards YouTube Channel
Omni Hoverboards LinkedIn
Article: Video: Watch incredible footage of farthest flight by a hoverboard record set by Canada's Catalin Alexandru Duru, Guinness World Records, May 22, 2015
Video: Farthest flight by hoverboard - Guinness World Records, Guinness World Records, May 22, 2015
Article: Montrealer sets world record for farthest flight by hoverboard, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, May 23, 2015
Video: Omni's propeller-based hoverboard prototype (first test flight), Omni Hoverboards, May 25, 2015
Video: Omni's propeller-based hoverboard w/landing (prototype), Omni Hoverboards, June 18, 2015
Video: Canadian Develops Futuristic Hoverboard, CBC News: The National, Oct. 13, 2015
Article: Canadian inventor tests new prototype of record-setting hoverboard, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Oct. 14, 2015
Video: Training Before our flight in Paris, Omni Hoverboards, June 9, 2016
Video: Ball for the Portuguese Cup Delivered from the Air by a Man on a Hoverboard, Omni Hoverboards, May 29, 2017
Video: Brazil - Parintins Folklore Festival - Festival do Boi-Bumbá - do Caprichoso - Third night, Omni Hoverboards, July 4, 2018
Video: Hoverboard followed by Drone, Omni Hoverboards, Jan. 16, 2020

Lexus Hoverboard

Car maker Lexus threw its hat into the hoverboard development ring, too, flexing its engineering muscles beyond the world of luxury vehicles.

June 2015, the company released a set of teasers claiming it had created a real life, rideable hoverboard, piquing interest with footage that appeared to show the board floating in an otherwise normal skatepark.

Watch the video

A video showing pro skater Ross McGouran shredding up the skatepark looked like Back to the Future's 2015 wasn't too far away -- but there were some caveats.

Like Hendo, the Lexus board depended on a magnetic field to provide the hover power, so the skatepark was specially built for the ride. The smoke coming from the board wasn't just some cool add-on feature, either -- in order to work, its components were cooled by liquid nitrogen to maintain a frigid temp of minus 197 degrees celsius.

It keeps the board in place using “quantum locking” – a property of type 2 superconductors that overcomes the tendency of magnets to wobble off and repel each other, using a sort of magnetic, sticky “vortex”.

Unfortunately for hoverboard enthusiasts, custom magnetized skateparks aren't too common, and Lexus made it clear that the board wasn't going to be released for consumers. The campaign was just a flight of marketing fancy to prove Lexus has the capability of creating something spectacular.

These three innovators have scratched the surface of hoverboard tech, and, given time and development, show that the experience is at least possible

With future technological strides, what they began could eventually give everyone a shot at a real-life Marty McFly experience.

What about conventional thrust propulsion?

ArcaSpace (US Company) comes admirably close to the ideal with its ArcaBoard.

It’s capable of hovering 1ft in the air, 36 electric propellers generating 200kg of lift controlled by onboard balancing tech to help stabilise it. You can even control it using an app on your smartphone,for a 3 minute run time

The Flyboard Air is a jet-powered “personal aerial vehicle” capable of vertical take-off and landing. It can fly to 150 metres in height at 87mph. Emergency and military applications would be a the top of the list with a flight time of 12 minutes (but Zapata anticipates longer trips in the future).

Watch the video

This video perfectly explains everything we have covered in this Blog ….. So again ‘Hover’ on the link below and click to find out more……

So to answer the question

Are Hoverboards real ?

Well Yes, but not like it was portrayed in the back to the future II

So in 2022 we are still awaiting for Mattel’s bright pink Hoverboard to float into the future as some of the coolest transport you could imagine, and someday through these pioneers it may become a reality

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