Hoverboard
Hoverboard | |
---|---|
Back to the Future film series element | |
Publisher | Amblin Entertainment |
First appearance | Back to the Future Part II |
Created by | Robert Zemeckis Bob Gale |
In-universe information | |
Type | Personal transport |
Function | Personal transportation similar to a skateboard, but using a magnetic means of levitation instead of wheels. |
A hoverboard (or hover board) is a levitating board used for personal transportation, first described in science-fiction, and made famous by the appearance of a skateboard-like hoverboard in the film Back to the Future Part II. Many attempts have been made to invent a functioning hoverboard.
In fiction
Hoverboards were first described by author
The hoverboard was popularized by the Back to the Future film franchise, with its appearance in Back to the Future Part II (1989).[1] During the 1990s there were rumors, fueled by the film's director Robert Zemeckis,[3] that hoverboards were in fact real, but not marketed because they were deemed too dangerous by parents' groups. These rumors have been conclusively debunked.[3]
Hoverboards have appeared in various other media since the 1990s. For example,
Prototypes
Numerous attempts have been made to create working hoverboards.
Air cushion or ground effect
Several companies have drawn on hovercraft "air-cushion vehicle" technology to attempt to create hoverboard-like products but none have demonstrated similar experiences to the kinds of levitation depicted in science fiction films.
In the 1950s Hiller aircraft produced the "Flying Platform" which was similar to the modern concept of a hoverboard.[6]
The Airboard air-cushion vehicle was unveiled in the 2000 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony in Sydney,[7] which was manufactured and sold by Arbortech Industries Limited.[8] Series II was unveiled in 2007.[9]
In 2004,
In 2005,
In May, 2015, Guinness World Records announced that the Romania-born Canadian inventor Cătălin Alexandru Duru had set a new record for continuous travel as a controlling pilot on an autonomously powered hoverboard, travelling over a distance of 275.9 m (302 yd) at heights up to 5 m (16 ft) over Lake Ouareau in the province of Quebec, Canada. Video of the flight leading to a controlled splash-down is offered.[11] Duru had designed and constructed the hoverboard himself over the course of a year. Its lift is generated by propellers, and the pilot controls the craft with his feet.
On 24 December 2015,
In April 2016, a jet powered Flyboard Air hoverboard, flown by inventor Franky Zapata broke the Guinness World Record for farthest flight by hoverboard, flying 2,252.4 meters (2,463.3 yd).[13]
In July 2019, Franky Zapata flew the newer Flyboard Air "jet-powered personal aerial vehicle", referred to as the EZ-Fly, during Bastille Day celebrations in France.[14][15][16] On 4 August 2019, Zapata succeeded in crossing the English Channel with his device. The previous attempt on 25 July had been unsuccessful, but during the second try, escorted by French Army helicopters and using a backpack fuel reservoir, he accomplished the 35-kilometer (22 mi) journey in about 20 minutes, including a fueling stop at the midpoint. Zapata reached a speed of 180 km/h (110 mph) and maintained an altitude of approximately 15 meters (50 ft).[17]
Zapata's company, Z-AIR, had received a €1.3m development grant from the French military in December 2018.[18] However, he has said that the flyboard was not yet suitable for military use due to the noise it creates and the challenge of learning how to fly the device.[19]
Magnetic
In 2011, French artist Nils Guadagnin created a hovering board that floats by magnetic repulsion between it and its base but cannot carry a load. The board includes a laser system which ensures stabilization, in addition to an electromagnetic system which makes the levitation possible.[20]
In October 2011, the Université Paris Diderot in France presented the "Mag surf", a superconducting device which levitates 3 cm (1.2 in) above two magnetized repulsing floor rails and can carry up to 100 kg (220 lb).[21]
In October 2014, American inventor Greg Henderson demonstrated a prototype hoverboard working on a
On June 24, 2015,
On January 7, 2021, the YouTube channel Hacksmith Industries uploaded a video of a functional hoverboard
On March 22, 2023, a French amateur named Damien Dolata launched on YouTube his first functional version of a hoverboard called Ripulse. This hoverboard is capable of levitating a person weighing up to approximately 30 kg above the ground. It is composed of 4 magneto-rotational repulsors that create an eddy current in a conductive surface.[27][28][29]
Other
In March 2014, a company called HUVr claimed to have developed the technology for hoverboards, and released a video advertising the product on YouTube featuring Christopher Lloyd, Tony Hawk, Moby, Terrell Owens, and others riding hoverboards through a parking lot in Los Angeles. Special effect failures such as incomplete wire removal have conclusively identified the video as a hoax or joke, traced to the Funny or Die website through identification of the cast and public references to the project.[30] Funny or Die later posted a video featuring Christopher Lloyd "apologizing" for the hoax.[31]
Rumors circulated in 2001 that inventor
Guinness records
Guinness World Records defines a hoverboard as an autonomously powered personal levitator.
In May 2015, the Romanian-born Canadian inventor Cătălin Alexandru Duru set a Guinness World Record by travelling a distance of 275.9 m (302 yd) at heights up to 5 m (16 ft) over a lake, on an autonomously powered hoverboard of his own design.[33][34]
On April 30, 2016, Guinness World Records recognized a new record of 2,252.4 m (2,463.3 yd). The Flyboard Air was powered by jet engine propulsion, and its use allowed Franky Zapata, in Sausset-les-Pins, France to beat the previous record by nearly 2 km (2,200 yd).[35]
In popular culture
Back to the Future
Back to the Future franchise: Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) rides a Mattel hoverboard in Back to the Future Part II (1989), to escape Griff Tannen and his gang in the year 2015. Later on, Marty McFly would revisit 1955 and use the hoverboard to steal the Grays Sports Almanac book back from Biff Tannen, to prevent him from taking over Hill Valley.
In Part III (1990), in the year 1885, Doc Brown rides the hoverboard to rescue Clara from falling off the locomotive.
In the one-off special
- In a short film called Hoverboard (2011), a girl watches Part II and makes a hoverboard of her own.
- In Back to the Future: The Game, Marty uses a hoverboard to help Doc catch Edna Strickland, one of the game's main villains and return her to 1931.[36][37][38]
Other
- In the 1986 The Transformers: The Movie, there is a scene where Daniel Witwicky rides a hoverboard.
- In the 1998 film Futuresport, a hoverboard is used by Dean Cain's character.[1]
- In the Warframe Fortuna Expansion, a new type of vehicle called a K-Drive was released. This vehicle functions exactly as a hoverboard.
- In the 2002 Disney animated film Treasure Planet, Jim Hawkins rides a hoverboard also known as a solar surfer with a sail doing daredevil stunts in the mines. Later on, he quickly constructs a hoverboard and uses it to reach the portal door controls before the titular planet explodes.
- In the 2004 CGI animated film Pinocchio 3000, Mayor Scamboli, Marlene, Cab, and Rodo all ride hoverboards at the opening of Scamboland.
- In the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog video game Sonic Riders, the characters use modified hoverboards as a racing vehicle.
- In the 1999 video game TrickStyle, the characters use hoverboards as a racing vehicle.
- In the 2012 mobile game Subway Surfers, a "hoverboard" is used as the character's vehicle. There are many variations of the hoverboard in-game including "Teleporter", "Hot Rod", "Bouncer" and others.
- In the 2017 video game Lightfall.
See also
- Flyboard
- Hoverbike
- Ionocraft, a propulsion device with similar operation to a hoverboard, but requires tethering to its power supply as its thrust-to-weight ratiois too low to also lift it
- Power trowel, a hovercraft used for concrete
- Lexus hoverboard
References
- ^ a b c Shea, Ammon. "Hoverboard". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
- ^ Sotenga (September 28, 2014). "SWAT". Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
- ^ a b snopes (4 November 2015). "Back to the Future Hoverboard : snopes.com". Snopes.
- Killer List of Videogames. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
- ^ Clewes, Benny (14 October 2021). "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater & 9 More Game Demos People Played For Months". Comic Book Resources (CBR). Retrieved 26 November 2021.
- ^ "Exhibits: Hiller Flying Platform". Archived from the original on 2010-06-11.
- ^ "The Hover Board: How Close Are We?". 12 January 2009.
- ^ "Arbortech Industries Limited Airboard page". Archived from the original on July 20, 2001.
- ^ "Arbortech releases Airboard Series II" (PDF) (Press release). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
- ^ "Hoverboard | Technology | Discovery - video dailymotion". Dailymotion. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
- ^ Kevin Lynch (22 May 2015). "Video: Watch incredible footage of farthest flight by a hoverboard record set by Canada's Cătălin Alexandru Duru". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- ^ ArcaBoard: The first real hoverboard?, Gizmag.com, accesat la 26 decembrie 2015
- ^ Lynch, Kevin (2016-04-30). "Confirmed: Franky Zapata sets new Farthest hoverboard flight record in France". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2016-07-12.
- ^ https://www.zapata.com/en, About Us
- ^ "One Company Thinks Flying Platforms Have Finally Come Of Age, But Will The Military Hop On Board?". thedrive.com. Archived from the original on 2019-08-06. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
- ^ "Franky Zapata crosses Channel by hoverboard at second attempt". The Guardian. 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2019-08-05.
- ^ "Franky Zapata: French inventor successfully crosses Channel by hoverboard". The Independent. 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2019-08-05.
- ^ "French 'Flying Man' Franky Zapata Crosses the English Channel on Jet-Powered Hoverboard". News 18. 4 August 2019.
- ^ "Franky Zapata crosses Channel by hoverboard at second attempt". The Guardian. 4 August 2019.
- ^ Brandrick, Chris (May 28, 2010). "Hoverboard Project Takes Flight--and Actually Hovers". PC World. Archived from the original on July 24, 2010. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
- ^ "Le Mag Surf- Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7". www.univ-paris-diderot.fr (in French). Retrieved 2017-02-25.
- ^ Buckley, Sean (2010-10-21). "We rode a $10,000 hoverboard, and you can too". Engadget.
- ^ Dougherty, Conor (2014-10-21). "Hoverboard? Still in the Future". The New York Times.
- ^ Liszewski, Andrew (23 June 2015). "Wait a Minute, Did Lexus Actually Make a Working Hoverboard?". Gizmodo. Gawker Media.
- ^ "Hoverboard is a 2015 reality: It's called Lexus Slide!!!". Ridesupboards.com. Archived from the original on October 1, 2015. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
- ^ "HOVERBOARD TEST! (PART 2/2)". YouTube. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
- ^ ""Un rêve de gosse": à Carry-le-Rouet, Damien a créé son propre hoverboard". BFMTV (in French). Retrieved 2023-05-22.
- ^ L, Frederic (2023-05-16). "La Ripulse: un inventeur français met au point un véritable Hoverboard à répulsion magnétique". kulturegeek.fr (in French). Retrieved 2023-05-22.
- ^ "Carry-le-Rouet : un fan de "Retour vers le futur" construit son skate volant". LaProvence.com (in French). 2023-05-07. Retrieved 2023-05-28.
- Ziff Davis, LLC. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ Funny Or Die is Sorry for Lying about Hoverboards, retrieved 2017-02-25
- ^ Lynch, Michael (8 February 2017). "The Death Of The Oil Industry: Not This Again". Forbes. Archived from the original on 1 November 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ Canadian Develops Futuristic Hoverboard. 13 October 2015. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Farthest flight by hoverboard - Guinness World Records". YouTube.
- ^ "Farthest flight by hoverboard".
- ^ Gearan, Jay. "'Back to the Future' still No. 1 with Hubbardston father, son".
- ^ "Flyboard Air Interview". 10 January 2017. Archived from the original on January 31, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
- ^ "What's on: madcap movies, curious beasts & butterfly ladies - InDaily". 20 January 2017.[permanent dead link]
External links
- Robert Brockway (29 April 2009). "The Hoverboard Lie: How Back to the Future Ruined Childhood". Cracked.com. Retrieved 25 February 2017.