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Once the preserve of Marty McFly and sci-fi fantasies, hoverboards are set to become a reality after a developer attracted nearly half a million dollars in funding.

Greg Henderson, the creator of the Hendo Hoverboard, has created a working prototype of the device which works by using electromagnets to glide an inch off the floor.

The boards will currently only work over metal surfaces, so Mr Henderson is also designing the world's first hover park - similar to a conventional skate park but with an aluminium floor.

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On its way: The Hendo Hoverboard is set to become a reality after a kickstarter campaign raised nearly half a million dollars in order to develop the product

The board uses four electromagnets to push against the floor, making the board float an inch off the ground, but will only work over metal surfaces - for now

Developer Greg Henderson is planning to use some of the Kickstarter money to develop the world's first hover-park which will allow people to skate around like in a conventional skatepark

However he has also vowed to develop the technology so that it works over every surface, including water, allowing people to recreate the opening sequence of Back To The Future II where Marty uses a hoverboard to escape his pursuers by skating over a lake.

Mr Henderson initially went to Kickstarter looking for $250,000 to make the technology a reality, but has so far received  $437,000.

The campaign finishes in December, at which point Mr Henderson and his team will begin getting the boards ready for their commercial launch in December next year.

In the meantime they are currently working on their 18th prototype, a working model which uses four electromagnetic engines to float an inch off the floor and allows the staff at Arx Pax to glide across a metal half-pipe, using their bodyweight to move in any direction.

Mr Henderson said: 'This is not the end, this is just the beginning of where this technology can go.

'The wheel has served us very, very well, and we're not taking the wheel head on, but there are certain places where this may be more appropriate than the wheel.

'Last month the Wikipedia entry for Hoverboard said this was a fictional device. It doesn't say that anymore.'   

The idea came to Mr Henderson while he was trying to find ways of building structures that can better withstand earthquakes.

As part of his research, he came up with a method that uses electromagnetic fields to separate the building from the ground in the event of a disaster.

That same technology, he realised, could also be put to work in a hoverboard that would allow people to glide on air.

In a video released by Mr Henderson, a man is seen moving smoothly along a custom-built skate ramp on his board, which is held an inch of the ground.

It's here! The Hendo Hoverboard is the world's first hoverboard

Ever since Michael J Fox made his getaway on a hoverboard in Back to the Future II (left), gadget fans have been dreaming of floating on their own device

Unlike the Back to the Future board, the technology requires the board to be on top of conductive materials to serve as a secondary magnetic field

Unlike the Back to the Future board, the technology requires the board to be on top of conductive materials - such as copper or aluminum -  to serve as a secondary magnetic field.

Maglev trains use similar technology but laying down a track costs around £464,000 ($750,000) per metre. 

Mr Henderson, however, claims its technology would only cost £6,200 ($10,000) per metre of track.

Mr Henderson's 19-person company, Arx Pax, is now making the technology inside the device available to the public on crowd funding site Kickstarter.

The company is hoping to raise £155,000 ($250,000) for the campaign and will sell the technology for £185 ($299) in a box it calls the Hover Engine developer kit.

Buyers can take the hover tech outside of the box and put it in anything they want to hover. It can carry 40lbs (18kg) and has a battery that lasts for around seven minutes.

'We want to see what you can do with our technology,' the company writes on their Kickstarter page.

'You can use it for hovering, or for applications we haven't even imagined.'

Consumers can also buy the complete Hendo hoverboard from £6,200 ($10,000).

In the meantime, the group is working on something called the G-Ray, which will allow people to control the hover technology remotely using a smartphone app. 

Californian group Arx Pax claims its technology would cost £6,200 ($10,000) per metre of track to work

The magnets only work as long as metal conductor is used in the surface underneath. So the board underneath the Hendo can be aluminum and copper to work

Buyers can take the hover tech outside of the box and put it in anything they want to hover. It can carry 40lbs (18kg) and has a battery that lasts for around seven minutes