The Hoverboard Is Finally Real

The future technology from Robert Zemeckis' legendary film Back to the Future seemed impossible in 1989. But a new Kickstarter campaign wants to make at least part of it a reality. The Hendo Hoverboard was created by Jill and Greg Henderson, a California couple, who hope to put their hover technology in the hands of developers by July 2015. It will come in the form of a white box with hoverboards following a few months later.

A writer for GigaOM took the hoverboard for a spin. She says the experience was like “standing on a giant air hockey puck hovering three quarters of an inch above the ground.” There is one big catch with the technology. The hoverboard can only be used over a non-ferrous metal surface, so you can’t just take it for a spin at your local skate park, and steering is also an issue, according to Engadget. However, Hendo readily admits that perfecting the hoverboard will take "a little more time and resources." What you see in the video above is just a proof of concept, a precursor to what the creators hope to build.

Even if we don't see kids hoverboarding everywhere in a couple of years, the technology — which consists of hover engines that create a magnetic field, and battery cells — could have other interesting applications. Hendo is offering it to everyone in the form of a Whitebox Developer Kit, enabling anyone to create hovering objects with ease. If the Kickstarter reaches its funding goal of $250,000 by its deadline of December 15, the first round of Hendo Hoverboards will be available on Oct. 21 of next year.