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Hoverboard Finally Here!

posted by CoolHand on Monday May 25 2015, @10:03PM   Printer-friendly
from the where-the-f-is-our-jetpacks dept.

Dr Spin writes:

Yes. Back to the Future: Sclog reports that a Hoverboard, ridden by Canadian inventor of Romanian descent Catalin Alexandru Duru, has broken the Guinness World Records record and delivers realistic performance targets!

Seriously, it looks like this is the equivalent of the Wright Brothers flight!

From the Guinness article:

Catalin reaches a height of 5 metres on his prototype hoverboard covering a distance of over twice that of two full sized football pitches before gently landing in the exquisite waters of Lake Ouareau in Quebec, Canada. He claims that the machine, which he built and designed over the course of 12 months, can be used anywhere and can reach 'scary heights' which he would like to potentially explore in the near future.

 
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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by FatPhil on Tuesday May 26 2015, @08:31AM

    by FatPhil (863) <reversethis-{if.fdsa} {ta} {tnelyos-cp}> on Tuesday May 26 2015, @08:31AM (#187919) Homepage
    Well, it does look like good engineering, but it has fuel issues (using too much to be of any practical purpose, and failing quite catastrophically when it runs out). But it is nice to see a world record by a privateer, one which isn't just some corporate gimmicky publicity stunt. (Guinness World Records employ more people in event management and marketting than any other field, for a reason.)
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  • (Score: 2) by darkfeline on Wednesday May 27 2015, @11:48PM

    by darkfeline (1030) on Wednesday May 27 2015, @11:48PM (#188862) Homepage

    >failing quite catastrophically when it runs out
    Do helicopters or airplanes not also fail catastrophically when they run out of fuel?

    Programming this hoverboard to detect when it's low on fuel and descend gradually and land is a one semester undergrad level assignment, a.k.a. completely trivial. The noise issue is the biggest problem I see at this point.

    >using too much to be of any practical purpose
    Recreation is also a practical purpose, and there are far more inefficient sports at the moment than one hypothetically using this hoverboard, such as skiing (lifts, transportation to snowy areas, and snow making, to list a few energy costs).

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    • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday May 28 2015, @07:29AM

      by FatPhil (863) <reversethis-{if.fdsa} {ta} {tnelyos-cp}> on Thursday May 28 2015, @07:29AM (#188994) Homepage
      Helicopters and planes are *extremely* tightly regulated, probably the most regulated transportation apart from nuclear weapon delivery mechanisms.

      This however might make it a good hobby for people who do like to show off how expensive and impractical their hobbies are, you're right there.
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