Back to the future hoverboard sold at auction (Video)

A California start-up has built a Back to the Future style hoverboard and is now crowd-funding to commercialise their product.

The Hendo Hoverboard, which bears a striking similarity to the one ridden by Marty McFly in the movie Back to the Future II, uses magnetic levitation technology to float an inch off the ground and the firm’s current prototype can support roughly 130kg.

It’s self-propelled, at least at its current prototype stage, which means you’ll have to give it a push to get it going – and judging from the video clip, you’re unlikely to be performing any Marty McFly-esque stunts or getting it up to insane speeds.

But come on: this is an actual, working hoverboard – and it’s just an early prototype. Hendo’s California-based makers have big plans for the future of their technology, and are seeking funding on Kickstarter (a whole US$250,000) to help realise them. Pledging US$100 will get you a five-minute hoverboard ride at their Silicon Valley HQ (or possibly elsewhere in the US), and pledging US$300 will bag a developer kit complete with a hover engine, but the really exciting reward – a working Hendo hoverboard itself – requires a donation of US$10,000.

Some of the money raised by the Kickstarter campaign will be used to build a hoverpark – essentially a metal-surfaced skatepark in which Hendo hoverboard users can ride without fear of scraping up their ride should they pass over a patch of carpet.

Agencies/Canadajournal