Sumergido 1

Megan Sumergido

Professor Lawson

ENGL 113B

26 April 2017

Project Text Revised Final Draft Stage

Word Count: 2326

McFlyin To the Future

How did Sci-Fi films influence the engineers to recreate the hoverboards? One of the

blockbuster films of all time during the 1980s is the Back to The Future Trilogy, which started

the whole hoverboard frenzy. It took over 30 years for engineers from a variety of companies

across the world to finally produce the hoverboards for society. The launching prototype of the

product that everyone had been waiting for finally arrived during the Summer of 2015. Modern-

day engineers made peoples dreams a reality when they created hoverboards, but the device

developed the exceptions created by Back to The Future, to fulfill the reality is not only

disappointing, but it is unsafe.

Millions of people got their hopes up once they saw the real-life version of what was

supposed to be their childhood hoverboard. The wait for these transportation devices did not pay

off at all, whatsoever. 2015 was supposed to be the golden year for people who seen BTTF and

believe that hoverboards and flying cars will exist during that year. Everything is not what it seems.

It is unfortunate to know how late the creation of the hoverboards did not live up to peoples

expectations because it looks like a Segway without handle bars. Most people were angered by the

fact that they are called hoverboards, when in fact they do not hover from the ground. They have

big wheels on the side that touch the ground.

 Sumergido 2

Many companies have attempted to create their hoverboards to resemble the hoverboard

from Back to The Future. The model hoverboard from BTTF that Marty McFly rode on in the

BTTF II film was an air-foil skateboard that flies him through town at rakish speeds []

(Movieclips, YouTube). The hoverboard helped him get away from Griff, the descendant of Biff,

and his gang who are bullies from the future. The hoverboard operates on power, if it does not

have enough power it will not function well, and stop suddenly in the middle of the street or any

other location from which it came from. That is how the protagonist, Marty, during the scene where

he was being chased by Griff and his gang the hoverboard he took from a little girl just stopped

near the edge of the pond. As he tried to get out of the pond, Griff and his buddies were getting

closer and closer with a more upgraded hoverboard, but Marty ended up jumping into the pond to

avoid any collision. That led to the gang of bullies crashing into the Town Hall.

Every engineer has tried to mimic Robert Zemeckis master piece, which has its flaws.

Actual designs [] are far more rudimentary than the model used by Marty McFly in the movie

(Bromwich and Victor). For example, three companies: Lexus, Hendo Hover and Omni

Hoverboards have tried to launch an actual hoverboard prototype and show it to the world during

2015. Omni Hoverboard which is currently ran by the inventor Catalin Alexandru Duru, is still

running till this day. The Omni Hoverboard does not closely resemble the models from the film,

Wired magazine said that it performed, most like what we would expect of a hoverboard

(Bromwich and Victor). Their mark-1 prototype has similar features to the movies prediction for

the 2015 hoverboard because it can hover into the air. The appearance of their version is 10

times bigger, and personally it looks more like a drone for humans that can physically ride on it.

We are a company that specializes in propeller-based hoverboards. Our mark-1 prototype

managed to travel a total distance of 275.9 m (905 ft. and 2 inches) to achieve a new Guinness
 Sumergido 3

World Records title for the longest distance travelled by a hoverboard (Duru, CBC News). There

are even workshops for those who would like to test the top-secret next generation of the board,

which are held in Quebec, Canada.

Lexus, the car company, has the whole nation shocked because they decided to also to

produce their very own hoverboard. Haruhiko Tanahashi, Lexus lead chief engineer, created the

SLIDE to re-engineer design, technology and skateboarding (Lexus). The details of Lexus,

SLIDE, is completely different from Omni Hoverboard, but it is like the BTTF hoverboard. The

difference is that SLIDE has a thick layer underneath the board itself and it rides low to the ground,

even though it barely floats mid-air. How does Lexus hoverboard work exactly? According to

Lexus, its hoverboard relies on superconductors and magnets, which combine to repel the force of

gravity and lift an object, (Barrett). The Meissner Effect is where you take the magnetic field near

the superconductor, which makes currents that wont die right away. The liquid nitrogen cools

down the superconductor below their transition temperature which is at -321 degrees Fahrenheit,

which isnt very cold. That is exactly what SLIDE has demonstrated with pro-skater and LEXUS

rider, Ross McGouran. McGouran went on a test ride which led to a promo video that had over 3

million views, he was riding it like Marty McFly.

Hendo Hover is another company that debuted way before Lexus began their project for

hoverboards, on May 21, 2013. [] The physics behind the Hendo in great depth here, but the

key difference between it and the Lexus project is that Lexus opted for a superconductorwhich

creates a different kind of magnetic fieldinstead of a plain ol conductor (Barrett). The

corporation has uses Magnetic Field Architecture (MFA) as their core technology for their

hoverboards. Quantum levitation of magnets on top of one another with also the use of poles

involved isnt as simple as it seems to be because of Earnshaws Theorem: a stable static

 Sumergido 4

equilibrium between two magnets is impossible (Hendo Hover). They figured out with Lenzs

law of how magnets move relative to the conductive material, it creates an opposing magnetic field

in the conductor. Tony Hawk, the most well-known pro-skater has even sponsored Hendo Hover

by trying out the hoverboard. Hendo is one of the first companies to ever start on this huge project

and was known to be the Worlds First Real Hoverboard. A long journey of creating one

prototype after another and finally creating the finishing product.

The reality of the outcome of the hoverboards turned into self-balancing scooters. They

are nicknamed hoverboards because it is simpler to say (Mateo). That is why many people call

them hoverboards, because it would be strange to call them as what they truly look like a

Segway or a self-balancing scooter. Imagine Paul Blarts Segway from Paul Blarts Mall Cop

movie, but without the handle bars he holds onto when he roams around the halls of his mall as he

is on duty. In comparison to the whole worlds dream hoverboard, the hoverboard of today is the

one that is currently roaming around the streets during daylight and nighttime. It is not floating

above the ground, it is literally on the ground defining gravity. These present-day hoverboard

have been popping up everywhere. Athletes from different disciplines are lazily hovering into

practice [] All these celebrities use one, so it must be cool, right? It isnt (Mateo). It is not just

athletes and celebrities, but ordinary people also ride on them as well, like during the 1980s the

fictional movie character Marty McFly, an ordinary teenager travelling back forward in time riding

one of those. For example, there are a few percentage of CSUN students that own a hoverboard

and would ride it around campus almost every single day from class to work then to their homes.

For every trend that is in today, always has a setback or a horrid truth. There are cases where

fires and explosions are caused by these contraptions because of the lithium ion batteries. Case

Number One: A New York man filed a lawsuit after his Swagway hoverboard exploded while
 Sumergido 5

charging, stated by the Chappaqua Fire Department (Hollister). Hoverboards have not only been

the hottest new device for transportation, but it has the most-discussed stories all over media. There

have been 12 incidents in the U.S. where the batteries of the hoverboards have been reported to

being caught on fire on December 2015. Also in July 2016, there was at least 60 reports of

hoverboard fires which costs over $2 million in property damage due to the lithium ion batteries.

Case Number Two: Jessica Horne lost her familys Louisiana home after her 12-year-old sons

Fit Turbo hoverboard exploded (Hollister). These kinds of cases have families feeling devastated,

guilty, angry and unsatisfied because they purchased a hoverboard not knowing the side effects

nor did it have any warning labels about how it can potentially cause unnatural fires.

Every single ride requires an age limit, including a 2-wheel miniature Segway. Popular

hoverboards are the center of a new California law effective in 2016, (Lee). Since there are age

requirements, it is for the safety of children who decides to purchase or just ride on a hoverboard

without a parent nor legal guardians legal consent. We said to the companies, you need to come

together, create a voluntary organization and set a safety standard, says U.S. Consumer Product

Safety Commission (Hollister). Guidelines for hoverboards are necessary for people who own

them and should be clarified by those who dont know the consequences of leaving one unattended.

The new law, effective Jan. 1, 2016, mandates riders must be 16 years old to ride in public []

must wear a helmet and can only ride on streets A community of people have already passed the

law for the hoverboard riders to follow and obey at all times, plus wearing a helmet is obligated

for everyone to wear when theyre riding one in public. Those people can even be fined. Anyone

who violates the new rules or rides under the influence will pay a $250 fine (Lee). This fine is

like the fines an individual would get if they were to park in a red zone or a handicapped zone. It

is best to just follow the rules, for the safety of thyself and people who are around the person with
 Sumergido 6

a hoverboard. That way, no one will get hurt or anything and to be sure to know which company

when buying a hoverboard online for visible reviews and if they have instructions on how it

functions, and more. It is best to read all the information provided online thoroughly twice, just

for reassurance.

Everybody loves to receive presents during the holidays, it is the most wonderful time of

the year. Many of these products such as paintball games, rare-earth magnet toys, all-terrain

vehicles, scooters and now hoverboards create new and unforeseen injury risks (Robinson).

Again, with the fires and explosions, but also physical injuries of the riders. Therefore, there was

professionals that were hired that can balance on these contraptions before they sell it to

consumers. It has already been a few years since it debuted and its been ban from places. These

devices have also been banned from some airplanes given the potential fire risk (Robinson).

Hoverboards are a very flammable that can literally set a huge fire on an airplane of hundreds of

passengers, including the pilot and co-pilots. Again, all about the safety of others, no crash landings

like Griff when he caused property damages with his posse at the center piece of their town with

their recklessness. A case where a 5-year-old girl fell off from a hoverboard and hitting her chin

on concrete, which led to her jaw swelling with pain and her chin is on the abrasion. She has

received treatment that was recommended for her by doctors, so she can go back to her daily

routine. Another similar case, where a 6-year-old boy fell off his hoverboard as well, but he was

pushed by his sister and he did land on his arm. The immediate pain that all 3 contenders went

through because of the dangers of hoverboards. Manufacturers have released guidance on the safe

uses of the hoverboards from using flat surfaces and avoiding public roads that consists of vehicles

and bystanders, which is indeed helpful for the whole community of hoverboard users.
 Sumergido 7

Sci-Fi inspired technology led engineers to re-innovate the hoverboards from Back to The

Future in a unique style, but with a price of the consumers to pay. Everybody had patience for the

hoverboard to be built, it did take a while, but was it worth the wait? Some were satisfied by it

because its different from what people would imagine it to be. Others were disappointed by how

they waited this long to expect a replica of Marty McFlys hoverboard but didnt receive it at all.

The downfall of the prototype in 2015 changed the game for 2016 and 2017 because the design of

the new hoverboard is just a self-balancing scooter. Modern-day engineers made peoples dream

a reality by remodeling the hoverboards, but the expectations were just thrown out the window

and forgotten. The engineers are trying hard to create an actual hoverboard that can float, and

maybe even a floating car.

 Sumergido 8

Works Cited

Barret, Brian. How That Lexus Hoverboard Actually Works. Wired. Gear. 06 June 2015.

Medium. 11 April 2017.

Bromwich, Jonah, Daniel Victor. Why a Back to the Future Hoverboard Never Took Off. The

New York Times. 21 Oct. 2015. Medium. 18 Apr. 2017.

Hollister, Sean. Buying A Self-Balancing Scooter? You Might Want to Think Twice. Here Are

the Reasons Why So Many Hoverboards Are Catching Fire. CNet. 9 July 2016. Medium.

11 Apr. 2017.

Lee, Greg. New CA Law Requires Age Limit, Other Rules for Hoverboard Use. ABC7. KABC-

TV. 29 Dec. 2015. Medium. 11 Apr. 2017.

Mateo, Ivan "Today's 'Hoverboards' Incomparable to 'BTTF' 'Hoverboards'." UWIRE Text,

(2015): 1.

Robinson, Tamar, Maneesha Agarwal, Sofia Chaudhary, Brian E Costello, and Harold K Simon.

"Pediatric Hoverboard Injuries." Clinical Pediatrics, 55.11 (2016): 1078-1080.