Hoverboards

Brian Eguizabal

ENG-105

Professor. Tabios

30 March 2018

Where are these Hoverboards?

Let's all be honest, there has had to be a time in where we always wanted to own or use a hoverboard. I personally always fathomed the idea of hoverboards ever since I watched Back to the Future Part 2 and watched that infamous Marty Mcfly hoverboard scene. Since that I've always been excited for the future. The movie was set in the year 2015, that’s been 3 years ago and I don’t see anyone in the neighborhood roaming around on their iconic pink “Mattel Hoverboards”. All though  it was just a movie and it should have not been considered as a legitimate source for the availability of hoverboards. This raises questions like are we ever going to get our hands on these contraptions? There is hope. The technology from todays looks highly advanced compared to the technology present in the 1960’s. In this blog I will go over the current state of these hoverboards. I will also discuss the future of these mechanisms and develop of an output of when we can imagine ourselves on hoverboards.

To be clear, there are currently some models of hoverboards already out there in the world. The only problem is, these models don’t exactly meet the expectations we would have based off our fantasies. As briefly mentioned in a CNN Article, “Hoverboards that actually hover? They're here” by Thom Patterson the ultimate source that limits the full potential of the hoverboard is the battery core. In order to have these things be mobile they would need a battery core that is “lightweight”. The problem people are facing is that these “lightweight” batteries don’t have the amount of juice to keep a mechanism like a hoverboard on for a long time. In so the hunt for different alternatives to keep these hoverboards on for a long period of time is on. Canadian entrepreneur, Philippe Maalouf was used in this article for his contribution in the hoverboard project. Like other who are in the same boat, they haven’t found the ultimate power source and are even considering using “gasoline-fueled engines.” The estimated retail price at this time is from $25,000 to $50,000.” For a model that is in its first stages and who might not have that amount of money to spend. This idea just sounds unappealing for the moment.

To be fair, I feel like we are more closer to achieving our goals than we were a decade ago. The two main problems I feel affect the availability of hoverboards are regulations and prices. As previously mentioned in the CNN article, regulations can really affect the idea of seeing these completed innovations anywhere. The road, streets, and environment may get affected if we just have millions of people hovering around. If Maalouf’s gas alternative seems to be the way to power up these machines then this plane is in trouble in the long run. Imagine all the gas being used on all the cars, planes, motorcycles, and now hoverboards. All that amount of pollution can be fatal in the environment. In terms of prices, I expect to see it as high as 50,000 for the wave of these technological innovation. It is kind of a throwback to where the very first iphones and Macs were a fortune to be able to own. Over time, once companies and the inventors improve their products within each model. Then I feel like we’ll get a better product at a more reasonable price. I am not expecting these things to be under 2,000 to be honest. Based off the facts and information we’ve been given. I predict we the general public will be able to get our hands on these hoverboards in 10-15 years. My expectations are less exciting now after doing this research. One big reason is that the prices may be a bit high. The other thing is that there will be a lot of laws and regulations in place for my safety and all those around me. This means we can't just be riding our hoverboards casually like those girls from Back To The Future who Marty McFly borrowed from. How much more longer do you think we have to wait? Would you buy one at these high prices? Are you all ok with these regulations that may be set in place?