The Hendo 2.0 Hoverboard could be the Real Deal

The year 2015 was the future that Marty McFly travelled forward to, and it seems as if startups and companies are clambering to make life imitate art. In July, Lexus showcased its hoverboard “powered” by liquid nitrogen (read our earlier article to understand how it actually works which, as it turns out, isn't practical). Now, Arx Pax, a Los Gatos startup, is about to release its latest version of the hoverboard, named Hendo, on 21st October 2015, the exact destination date depicted in Back to the Future II. 

The Hendo’s prototype was unveiled a year ago, but it was a chunky and whiny contraption. In the time since, and with the help of the renowned (former) professional skateboarder, Tony Hawk, Arx Pax promises it will be delivering a sleeker and quieter machine.

Even with the older version, it sure looks like fun!:

More good news for the company is its Magnetic Field Architecture technology is being explored by NASA to maneuver microsatelites around in space. Unlike the Lexus hoverboard, the Hendo’s hover engine technology can work on any conductive surface and doesn’t require superconductors (Hendo: one; Lexus: love). Instead, it forms “swirls of electricity” which creates magnetic fields within the Hendo board and the conductive surface. And anyone who has brought two magnets close together know that these fields can repulse or attract each other, and in this case, make the Hendo hover. Most things that humans have sent 'up there' are made from aluminium anyway - that is, conductive material - so, NASA would be able to use the same technology to move tiny objects without physically touching them or at the risk of them clashing, especially when they need to dock with each other. Reminds you of the tractor beam in Star Trek, doesn't it?

NASA is not the only technology leader eyeing the start-up’s soon-to-be patented technology. Elon Musk also announced recently that his company, Space X, will be using it to test the Hyperloop train system, which is his dream of sending human-bearing pods shooting at insane speeds through tubes between Los Angeles and San Francisco. SpaceX is holding an open competition for teams to design half-sized pods, which will be tested on a one-mile tube-track next Summer. Competing teams can choose to use the conventional mag-lev or air bearing technology, or the Arx Pax’s hover engine, and the company says it has already been contacted by some of the teams. Not a bad year for a company formed only in 2012, by wife and husband team, Jill Avery Henderon and Greg Henderson.

On Wednesday, the 10 investors who paid US$10,000 each during the company’s Kickstarter campaign will receive their Hendo 2.0’s. The campaign raised US$510,590, more than double its US$250,000 fund-raising goal. With many possible life-changing implementations, we are eagerly looking forward to seeing the new board that harnesses the technology which could potentially change the world.

Images. Arx Pax