For years, fans have been clamoring for hovering vehicles like the ones in movies like Return of the Jedi and Back to the Future Part II. In recent months, engineers have come a few steps closer to making them a reality.
Hoverbikes
Midway through Return of the Jedi, Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker find themselves on the run from a group of stormtroopers on the forest moon of Endor. They jump on a pair of hoverbikes and buzz past some redwoods. Despite the twins easily evading the troopers and turning their vehicles into flaming debris, many people still think that hoverbikes could come in useful here on planet Earth. Malloy Aeronautics, a UK-based design firm, is currently hard at work on creating an operational version. Company founder Chris Malloy built a prototype in 2011 that’s powered by a BMW motorbike engine. He thinks that a better version can be constructed using technology similar to that found in robotic drones. (Malloy isn’t quite ready to offer specifics on how high his company’s hoverbike can fly or fast it can go. However, they have released a video about it to attract funding. And as goofy as this might sound, the U.S. Army’s research laboratory has already invested in the project.
Hoverboards
In 2014, we told you about a company called Hendo Hoover developing a working prototype of a Back to the Future-style hoverboard, and its promotional video starring skateboarder Tony Hawk. That same year, writers for the comedy website Funny or Die convinced various celebs, including Christopher Lloyd, to participate in an elaborate hoverboard prank. The latest company to roll out a hoverboard? Auto manufacturer Lexus. Their engineers managed to build a working model that utilize a complex system of what they describe as “liquid nitrogen cooled superconductors and permanent magnets.” Lexus created a promo video of their board in action. While it features a shot of their prototype gracefully floating over a sidewalk in front of a skatepark, the company’s development team actually hid magnets in the pavement. So unless your local half-pipe contains tons of them, Lexus’ hoverboard won’t do you much good…at least not yet. The skatepark in the video is real, and built by Lexus outside of Barcelona to be used for further testing.
