So where does the HENDO hoverboard stand today? Well, about 1 inch off the ground. As you can see from the video above, the prototype is real and it works! But to see it hover in person, and better yet, to defy gravity by riding it, is something you need to experience as well.

With the support of the Kickstarter community, we all can. We need your help to put the finishing touches on the Hendo Hoverboard, to help us produce them, and to create places to ride them.

Ok, so you can’t shred a halfpipe with one of these, but you can still show your support for Hendo with one of our Betaboards instead. The Betaboard is a smaller version of our hoverboard that floats on a magnetic base. It uses a a different type of levitation than our technology, based on electromagnetic stabilization.  It cannot be moved around too quickly and needs to stay plugged in, but it’s perfect for any desk and makes a great gift!

 

(In theory, the Betaboard should float forever, as long as it’s plugged in and not disturbed too much. It holds about 8 ounces/200g.)

Our engineering team has been amazing, rapidly iterating on design after design. In fact, this our 18th prototype, and we continue to make advances week after week.

The hoverboard is simultaneously fascinating and exhilarating. The enabling technologies existed, but no one had yet been able to align them to bring a hoverboard forth. Hendo has done so, and our hoverboards are working in almost every way we could have imagined. But perfecting it will take a little more time and resources.

The magic behind the hoverboard lies in its four disc-shaped hover engines. These engines induce an opposing magnetic field in the surface substrate below that provides lift, levitating our board off the ground.

While our hoverboard is primarily intended to be self-propelled, the actions which stabilize it can also be used to drive it forward by altering the projected force on the surface underneath it.

Currently, this surface substrate needs to be a non-ferromagnetic conductor. Right now we use commonly available metals in simple sheets, but we are working on new compounds and new configurations to maximize our technology and minimize costs.

Until the hoverboard is within everyone’s reach, we are offering the same technology in a small, accessible form factor – the Whitebox™ Developer Kit.

SPECS: (Approximate)

• Dimensions: 10″ x 10″ x 5″ (25cm x 25cm x 12cm)
• Hover Height: 1/4″ – 1/2″ (1cm – 1.5cm)
• Battery Life: 10-15 min
• Charge Time: 1-2 hrs
• Weight: 10-12 lbs (4.5 kg)
• Payload: ~ 5 lbs (3 kg)

We kept the Whitebox as simple and affordable as we could to get our technology out into as many hands as possible.

It is designed to be explored, taken apart, and analyzed, encouraging you to dare to wonder.