One year from today, on October 21, 2015, Marty McFly and company are scheduled to arrive from the past–as seen in Back to the Future Part II. And what a disappointment it would be if our future world didn’t have hoverboards for Marty to zip around on. But fear not: Hoverboards really are on the way!
We’ve seen news like this before, of course. Scientists created this smoky, bulky thing. And this attempt was so big, it had to be called a hovercraft. But the newest attempt at a hoverboard, the “Hendo Hoverboard,” is sleek and cool–though it doesn’t quite get as high as the one we were promised in the movies. It uses four disc-shaped engines on the bottom of the board to create a magnetic field that allows the board to hover about an inch above a copper surface.
Greg and Jill Henderson, the husband-and-wife team that created it, are trying to raise to raise $250,000 by December 15 with a Kickstarter campaign. “Yep, there was a movie. However, our attorneys have told us not to go there,” the Hendersons write on their page. But we are under no such restrictions: Marty McFly, this one’s for you.
The inventors’ real motivation for their creation is a lot more practical and not quite as fun: making buildings float to better to withstand earthquakes. But they wanted to capitalize on the popularity of the hoverboard concept to get media buzz and funding. As Greg Henderson told The New York Times, “That’s why we picked the hoverboard: to capture that attention. If one in 10 people realize there is another use for this stuff, that would be a great success.”
The Kickstarter campaign is gliding swiftly toward its goal. It has already picked up more than $68,000 of its $250,000 goal in its first day. For $10,000, funders can purchase one of the first 10 hoverboards produced and have it by October 21, 2015–just in time to fly around with Marty.
[h/t: PCMag.com]
Recognize your brand’s excellence by applying to this year’s Brands That Matter Awards before the final deadline, June 7.
Sign up for Brands That Matter notifications here.
