Wednesday 5th August 2015

Lexus tests hoverboard

Why make more cars when you could be developing a hoverboard instead?!

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Lexus has made a hoverboard. We'll repeat that, just to be sure: Lexus has made a hoverboard. A functioning, hovering hoverboard. There's a video and everything. And we thought the GS F was as exciting as Lexus would get this year.

Seriously, what is going on here?

The hoverboard has been in development for 18 months as part of Lexus's 'Amazing in Motion' campaign; the video here comes from a 'hoverpark' near Barcelona, where it has been tested by pro-skateboarder Ross McGouran over the past few weeks.

So how does it work? Magnets. The board has been designed with magnetic levitation specialists in Germany, the hoverpark built using 200 metres of magnetic track beneath the surface. Inside the hoverboard there are two cryostats, the reservoirs with superconducting material. Yes, superconducting material, that's the real name. The cryostats are kept at -197 degrees in liquid nitrogen, allowing the board to achieve magnetic levitation when placed above a magnetic track.

Obviously you must hoverboard in Vans too

This is probably best explained by a professional. Dr Oliver de Hass is CEO of evico, one of the companies behind the Lexus hoverboard: "The magnetic field from the track is effectively 'frozen' into the superconductors in the board, maintaining the distance between the board and track - essentially keeping the board in a hover." Apparently the rider can even jump on the board...

From the rider's perspective, McGouran said: "Without friction it feels like I've had to learn a whole new skill, particularly in the stance and balance you need to ride the hoverboard." No kidding!

So that's the latest Lexus prototype. A friggin hoverboard. Apparently it's not due for sale anytime soon. What will be on sale soon is the Lexus GS F, which features in this video. Somehow a V8 supersaloon seems a bit less exciting now, doesn't it?

Watch the vid here.

[arkenphel]

I was excited until I read that the skate park had to be specially constructed with magnets underneath, which kinda defeats the purpose of this as a viable means of transport.

I was hoping they would've cracked the maglev's reliance on underfloor magnets.

Yes, I'm an optimist.

[Ilovejapcrap]

Still impressive

[Krikkit]

arkenphel said:

I was hoping they would've cracked the maglev's reliance on underfloor magnets.

Yes, I'm an optimist.

Probably would've been on BBC News first... and every newspaper in the world.

[FurtiveFreddy]

Er.... you know it's not real, I hope?

[BuzzBravado]

This is the year we were supposed to have them..........and be dressing like this:

[Neil E 99]

Mates just bought a new IS300H.
Didnt see one of these in the option list!

[KTF]

Ilovejapcrap said:

Still impressive

It looks like it needs a bit more 'hover' as a lot of the time it seemed to be scraping along the ground? Still cool though.

[rijmij99]

BuzzBravado said:

This is the year we were supposed to have them..........and be dressing like this:

You mean you haven't been dressing like this all year?

No wonder I've been getting strange looks at waitrose

[Soupie69uk]

Would be amazing if they did lay the metal under the road and pavement surfaces for these to work along with other transport.

Plus could maybe make the pads where you can charge products so your electric car can be charged while you drive.

[MrBarry123]

arkenphel said:

I was excited until I read that the skate park had to be specially constructed with magnets underneath, which kinda defeats the purpose of this as a viable means of transport.

I was hoping they would've cracked the maglev's reliance on underfloor magnets.

Yes, I'm an optimist.

Me too.

[Gecko1978]

in 2002 just out of uni I worked at a firm and the topic of hover boards came up an one women loudly stated that they existed byut had been banned because people we "going mad on them", other women nodded in agrement.

Now I was a graduate so basically I knew nothing...except that the laws of physoics and gravity appl6ied whether or not the government allowed it on not.....

I suspect same women are sitting there now going do you remebr that grad we had who left after 6 months, well I told him they existed!!!!

[p1stonhead]

Still incredibly cool but not quite as impressive as one would hope. Found these pictures online.

You can see the rails it has to stay on to work in the parks construction photos. So it bascially is on a very small line and cant go anywhere else. You also need a st load of liquid nitrogen!

http://www.theverge.com/2015/8/4/9096247/hoverboar...

Edited by p1stonhead on Wednesday 5th August 10:06

[Dan_1981]

This possibly shows my lack of science understanding but I was genuinely, properly excited when I watched that video, proper jaw open moment - especially when he went over the water section.


And then I read it was a specially constructed park.

Hopes & dreams shattered and broken in one fell swoop.


Still cool though.

[PhantomPH]

FurtiveFreddy said:

Er.... you know it's not real, I hope?

You know it is real - I hope.

Despite whomever wrote the captions for the photos in this story feeling the need to act as if they are my Grandad, this is genuinely clever (but not new) stuff.

Look up Quantum Levitation (and avoid the fake ones out there) to see how this actually works. It's properly clever.

https://youtu.be/Ws6AAhTw7RA

[Gixer]

A hovering train is much more impressive, and in service in various forms, in Japan and China

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/21/asia/japan-magle...

[Guvernator]

Yep not that "ground-breaking" to be honest. The technology to do what they've done has been known about and available for years, it's just that no one could be bothered to build the special park for it till now.

Build one that you can go anywhere with rather than just round a little skate park and then I'll be impressed.

[Amanitin]

arkenphel said:

I was hoping they would've cracked the maglev's reliance on underfloor magnets.

that is not going to happen. Hovering (denser than air and no moving parts) above indiscriminate surfaces is not going to happen either without a major breakthrough in gravity. Major, as in colossal.

[Guvernator]

I think in the film that spawned the hoverboard, Back to the Future, they are supposed to have cracked anti-gravity hence all the flying cars and the hoverboard. Not something we are likely to achieve for a very long time IMO.

[jimmy156]

What, this can't be real, everyone knows hover boards don't work on water, not without power!

[Alex_6n2]

Gixer said:

A hovering train is much more impressive, and in service in various forms, in Japan and China

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/21/asia/japan-magle...

MagLev trains out in the East work with Electro magnets though, not superconducting materials. The hover board is slightly different

It's a cool video/experiment but not quite what we were all promised by Robert Zemeckis I can't imagine that the liquid nitrogen lasts very long either. Not sure I would want to be filling up my hover board with liquid N2 at the local Petrol station hah

Unless Cameron wants to fund a new London overground infastructure that is based on MagLev tech for hoverboards?! That would be cool... and you wouldn't need to worry about train driver strikes