Great scott! £1,600 hoverboard flies through the air using a high-powered jet of water
comments
You might not be able to use this hoverboard to outpace bullies like Back To The Future's Marty McFly, but this aquatic version of the sci-fi skateboard will let you perform tricks in thin air.
Invented by French jet ski champion Franky Zapata, the Hoverboard by ZR is a cross between flying and surfing and looks a little bit like a wakeboard attached to a large hose.
The company that makes it describes the Hoverboard as 'a new innovative extreme discipline that will make you experience new sensations'.
Scroll down for video
The water-propelled hoverboard allows people to fly up to 16 ft (5 metres) above the surface of the water at speeds of up to 16mph (25km/h), as well as perform tricks including somersaults and spins. The 59 ft (18 metre) hose is attached to a speed boat, or similar
HOVERBOARD BY ZR SPECIFICATION
Inventor: French jet ski champion Franky Zapata
Sensation: A cross between surfing and flying
Propulsion: Jet of water provided from a 59 ft (18 metre) hose
Maximum height: 16ft (5 metre).
Top speed: 16mph (25km/h)
Extras needed: Lesson and a motor boat
Cost: $2,675 (£1,577)
Speed: The 59 ft (18 metre) hose is attached to a 'personal water craft', such as a speed boat, which has between 180 and 300 horsepower.
Restrictions: There are no height restrictions for riders, although the French company notes that people weighing more than 17 stone (110kg) may not get the full effect of the device.
The water-propelled device allows people to fly up to 16ft (5 metres) above the surface of the water at speeds of up to 16mph (25 km/h), as well as perform tricks including somersaults and spins.
The board's agility has been demonstrated by popular YouTuber Devin Supertramp and his friends in Mexico.
It is attached to a hose and propelled by a powerful jet of water.
The 59 ft (18 metre) hose is attached to a 'personal water craft', such as a speed boat, which has between 180 and 300 horsepower.
The hoverboard has one rider and can be used solo, but relies on a motor boat driver following the Hoverboard's lead, unless a special attachment is used.
There are no height restrictions for riders, although the French company notes that people weighing more than 17 stone (110kg) may not get the full effect of the device.
A hoverboard like the fictional one used by Marty McFly in Back To The Future II (pictured) does not need water propulsion. The aquatic equivalent, from French jet ski champion Franky Zapata, is set to launch this summer and can be pre-ordered for $2,675 (£1,577)
It can be used in a lake or at sea, but the water must be over 13 ft (4 metres) deep.
Riders need at least one hour of professional training to get to grips with the controls of the Hoverboard, and ensure they are safe on it.
The device is related to the company's Flyboard, which lets riders 'fly' through the air by strapping a small board with two water nozzles attached to their feet.
The Hoverboard is set to go on sale this summer - a year before Marty McFly was said to have used his in Back To The Future Part 2.
It can be pre-ordered for $2,675 (£1,577) Cnet reported.
RESEARCHERS HAVE DEVELOPED A WAY OF LEVITATING OBJECTS USING SOUNDWAVES
Researchers have taken a step closer in the quest to develop a hoverboard that does not rely on water, by levitating objects in 3D using sound waves.
While scientists have previously managed to suspend objects in mid-air using what's called acoustic levitation, a team of Japanese engineers have managed to move objects around space in various directions.
Bubbles, a screw and a tiny piece of wood have so far been manoeuvred like a hoverboard, but the objects must be inside a complex set-up of four arrays of speakers to be able to fly.
The machine, which was created by engineers at the University of Tokyo and the Nagoya Institute of Technology, uses ultrasonic speakers to generate sound waves that cross over.
According to the researchers, this intersection creates 'a moveable ultrasonic focal point,' or a cross-over of high frequency noise greater than 20kHz, which is at the upper limit of human hearing.
Standing waves - waves that remain in a constant position - provide a suspending force so the focal point can be moved up, down and from side-to-side, in order to support a small floating object such as a screw that is trapped in the standing waves.
While scientists have previously managed to suspend objects in mid-air using acoustic levitation, a team of Japanese engineers have proved they can move objects around at will through three dimensional space using a refinement of the technology
Put the internet to work for you.
0 comments:
Post a Comment