US start-up set to roll out first levitating skateboards

Los Gatos, United States

EVER since Marty McFly rode on one in 1989's hit film Back to the Future Part II, fans have dreamed of having their own levitating skateboard, or "hoverboard". That wish has now come true, as engineers in Northern California have turned the futuristic device into reality.

The Hendo Hoverboard levitates on conductive surfaces: defying gravity, it floats about an inch above the ground, powered by four disc-shaped magnetic engines. That means you can ride it just like a skateboard on a ramp-style platform, albeit one made only of metal or otherwise electricity-conducting material, to produce the magnetic field. It can move speedily, if noisily, in multiple directions, as well as turn around. The battery only lasts seven minutes, but that is still enough time to take a grown adult for an exhilarating ride.