Top 3 "Hoverboard-ish Devices" Of 2015

Will any of these catch on?

1. The Hendo Hoverboard

Is this finally a real world hoverboard? Many of you may remember the hoverboard prank that went around with stars such as Moby, Tony Hawk and others. The jury is still out whether or not that was just some famous folks having fun or a bit too much. In 2015 this appears to be a real working prototype that isn’t made up. However the comments on video are very spirited so you can form your own opinion. That being said this thing seems to glide in a Marty McFly like fashion and has piqued my curiosity. I’d like to visit their labs and try this thing out.

The inventor’s name is Greg Henderson and he is the founder at Arx Pax. He states that he’s an architect first and foremost. This technology is powered by Lenz’s Law which states:

If an induced current flows, its direction is always such that it will oppose the change which produced it.

The humble inventor says he had to google it himself. This hoverboard won’t work on a regular surface and instead will need some type of metallic compound or element. In this case he constructed the floating skate park like structure with copper. The Hendo Hoverboard project is on kickstarter. Here is an excerpt from one of the more spirited comments by Monkee Supremacy:

It’s noisy, it’s expensive, it’s restrictive, even the simplest jump would damage the magnets on landing. This kind of a hoverboard could have been build a long time ago if anyone thought that people would be interested in buying it. It doesn’t take “thinking outside the box” to put a few magnets under a board and a copper floor underneath them. I am a Back To The Future fan as much as anybody but the actual hoverboards will not be based on magnets and they are a long way away. Say no silliness

I think this seems to have promise and may take some senior engineers to contribute. Btw they also are giving access somewhat to their “hover engine” for engineers and it costs $300.

2. The “WalkCar”

This is in the hoverboard-ish category as it has awesome balance and maneuverability but doesn’t float like the hendo. It is made by a company called Cocoa Motors and appears to be the most portable of the three. It almost looks like an apple mac laptop.

3. Self Balancing, 2-Wheel, Smart Electric Scooter, “Mini-Segway”

This transportation board has gotten the most distribution by far. It takes the segway to a whole new level.

When it comes to off the wall inventions the comments can get into it although a particular viewer had this to say about the narrator here:

Wow… a youtuber who doesn’t have an annoying on-screen personality. I actually watched your entire video, which was the most informative—you included a bit about going up/down hills even—and there was no screaming, no shrieking girls, and no overacting. I couldn’t believe it. I’m more impressed by that than the actual toy. Haha, thanks 🙂