Can levitating appliances take of

Ger Jansen is puzzling about how to ft a windshield. His problem is not ins
talling it in a car, but hanging the glass in thin air and keeping it hovering fo
r a prolonged display.
This is a fairly typical challenge for the utch engineer, who along with his d
aughter !ngela runs "realev, a leading levitation design frm. The mysteriou
s art of #oating has been largely confned to ultra$specialist industry applicat
ions and magician tricks, but the Jansens have developed a repertoire for an
y occasion% from lifting a model&s top hat for a fashion shoot to a giant rock i
n a striking art display. They have given sneakers air for 'ike, and produced
a range of self$suspending lamps for the home.
These are all given #ight by patented modules that induce magnetic levitatio
n. The kit is comprised of two parts( a magnetic disc that can be integrated i
nto the chosen ob)ect, and a base containing sensors that pin it in space. The
latest and most heavy$duty module can support up to *+ kilograms to a heig
ht of nine centimeters, but bespoke services are available for unlimited heig
ht and weight
,-ur customers drive us by re.uesting more demanding solutions,, says J
ansen. ,/or the higher and heavier loads we have to combine the largest levi
tation modules.,
The company is also developing programming to make the magnets smarter,
more responsive and capable of more sophisticated movement.
,0eople don&t want something to )ust #oat but also to interact with it. 1hat s
hould happen then is that sensors around the ob)ect move depending on the
movement of people, so the ob)ect is more intelligent
Jansen is #ooded with re.uests to make every conceivable item levitate. -
ne popular option for illusionists and thrill$seekers is to make a human #oat,
which he is pursuing with some reservations.
,2ou could have magnets inserted into clothes but it would not feel like resti
ng on the clouds ... 3f you have these magnets working together it&s a giant f
orce. 3t can hurt the skin. There need to be safety precautions.,
The "hairless "hair, an invisible chair that you can wear
The Jansens are not alone as there is a growing market of levitating applicati
ons for consumers. ! "alifornian company has released a set of #oating spea
kers, promising a uni.ue e4perience for the listener. "zech designers have p
roduced a computer mouse buoyed by magnetic levitation, designed to allevi
ate carpal tunnel syndrome.
5ut the limiting factor of magnetic levitation is re.uiring a base to #oat over,
e6ectively re.uiring that ob)ects are stationary. This largely puts paid to the
hoverboard dream inspired by ,5ack to the /uture, $$ another of the Jansens&
most common re.uests $$ and e4plains why transport seems the best placed i
ndustry to make use of the techni.ue
!nother levitation breakthrough has come at the micro level, and by a di6
erent method. This year, Japanese scientists used acoustic levitation to mani
pulate small ob)ects with three$dimensional capability for the frst time. 7ese
archers created a ,moveable ultrasonic focal point, that allowed them unpre
cedented control with sound waves.
84perts hailed the potential impact for molecular analysis for chemistry and
medicine, but lead researcher 2oichi -chiai of the 9niversity of Tokyo also fo
resees wider applications( ,3 would like to draw huge levitated graphics in st
adiums or concerts,, he said. ,-r for use in our daily lives such as #oating in
teractions at home and small ob)ect levitation.,
3n many cases, levitation technologies have yet to fnd meaningful functions,
either serving novelty purposes or yet to break out of the research stage. 5u
t the possibilities are multiplying, and the applications are becoming establis
hed in felds such as entertainment and transport.
3f the spread continues, magicians may need to learn some new trickstwitte
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