Lexus Unveils Its Working Hoverboard

An anonymous reader writes: Lexus has revealed its eagerly anticipated "SLIDE" hoverboard, which uses magnetic fields to carry its rider without touching the ground. The board is confined to custom-built skatepark, remaining suspended due to the board's repulsion from a specially made magnetic track. Mark Templin, Executive Vice President at Lexus International said: "Embarking on this project, we set out to push the boundaries of technology, design and innovation to make the impossible possible. With this project we call 'SLIDE', we collaborated with partners who share our passion for creating enjoyment out of motion. Even through combining our technology and expertise, we discovered making a hoverboard isn't an easy process. We've experienced the highs and lows and have overcome a few challenges, but through mutual determination we have created a demonstration of our philosophy in design and technology to create Amazing in Motion."

Comments

Waiting for the Tesla version

[WillAffleckUW]

But will settle for Hyundai.

Re:Waiting for the Tesla version

[KatchooNJ]

How many gigawatts will that thing run on, though?

Just in time

[alvinrod]

Looks like Back to the Future Part II was correct in that we'd have hoverboards in 2015, but they're certainly not as advanced as in the film. However, the Lexus appears to work over water though, so I suppose they have that going for them.

Re:Just in time

[pushing-robot]

The Lexus board has the same limitation: You can hover over water, but without a solid surface to kick off you can't propel yourself.

Unless, of course, you've got power...

Re:Just in time

[LessThanObvious]

The problem with polarized magnets is that as much as one side wants to repel, the other side wants to attract. So try and do a kick flip and your board is just going to stick to the surface upside down. The board is going to want to flip over and stick to the surface upside down all the time and you'll have to balance to offset those forces constantly. This sort of stake park sounded like a great idea when I thought of it when I was 8 years old. Now, not so much.

Re:Just in time

[jklovanc]

To be accurate it works over a very thin layer of water with a magnetic track underneath.

Re:Just in time

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, unless we discover another fundamental force of the universe that can support the mass of a person against the gravity of a planet, yet somehow hasn't been yet observed, hoverboards as depicted will never happen.

Re:Just in time

[mark-t]

The board doesn't "want" to flip over at all... if it did, it would spontaneously flip over when nobody was on it.

That said, there's nothing remotely unusual about the forces they are employing here... but it's a but more complicated than just two-like poles on magnets repelling eachother.

Re:Just in time

[drinkypoo]

Well, unless we discover another fundamental force of the universe that can support the mass of a person against the gravity of a planet, yet somehow hasn't been yet observed, hoverboards as depicted will never happen.

I presume you would need orders of magnitude more energy than is really feasible to ride on a magnetically bottled cushion of plasma. But it would still be a cool inspiration for special effects.

Re:Just in time

[Anonymous Coward]

Despite the article claiming that this is magnetic directionality, the still from the making of video clearly shows that the board is built on a pair of large square superconductors kept at a functional temperature.
While I forget the term for superconductor levitation in a magnetic field, it is very resistant to changes that alter the angle with respect to the magnetic field. Try to do a kick flip and the board will behave as a mostly rigid surface while your balance falters from it not behaving as you have learned to expect.

And in this park, you don't have to worry about repeatedly kicking off. The behavior of a superconductor with a magnetic track will keep it going until a strong enough force pushes the board far enough from the magnets that other physics rules take over.

Re:Just in time

[pushing-robot]

The article is bunk; the Lexus hoverboard works not via opposing magnets but the Meissner effect (a superconductor excluding magnetic fields). Orientation isn't important; you could flip it upside down, turn the board on its side, flip the *track* upside down (if the field is strong enough), and it will hang in place in exactly the way your brain says it shouldn't.

However, the main flaw with this and the Hendo hoverboard is control; you're essentially riding an air-hockey puck. You can't effectively steer by leaning, and good luck kicking off without sending yourself spinning.

Re:Just in time

[Joce640k]

The board is going to want to flip over and stick to the surface upside down all the time and you'll have to balance to offset those forces constantly.

It's almost as if you didn't actually watch the video before posting that.

Re:Just in time

[Joce640k]

Yep. Even those pro skateboards didn't seem to be able to stay on it for more than a few seconds.

Re:Just in time

[alvinrod]

You'd almost think it would be worse for professionals because they have spend years training and their brain and body have an expectation of board reaction that doesn't exist in this case. You'd probably have an easier time with an amateur because they don't have to unlearn years training and ingrained behavior that either doesn't work or works against a person in this case.

Re:Just in time

[LessThanObvious]

My refusal to view untrusted video for security reasons has once again resulted in misguided commentary.

Re:Just in time

[WolfWithoutAClause]

Not really much more complicated the track is just 2 or more magnetic stripes made with shitloads of neodymium magnets.

Re:Just in time

[Dialecticus]

While I forget the term for superconductor levitation in a magnetic field...

The word you're looking for is diamagnetism .

By my math, they have 11 weeks to perfect the technology, paint it in neon colors, and market it to children so it will be ready for Marty McFly's arrival on October 21st. Good luck, Mattel...I mean Lexus.

Re:Just in time

[mark-t]

Perhaps... but even if it did flip over, it would not be drawn to the track at all. As I said, this levitation is not being accomplished by simple fixed magnets.

Re:Just in time

[mark-t]

The words you are looking for are actually The Meisnner Effect.

Re:Just in time

[mark-t]

And your refusal to understand science comes from what, exactly?

Really, it is obvious from the photos that it is using the Meissner Effect to produce repulsion, not static magnetic orientation.

Re:Just in time

[SuricouRaven]

" flip the *track* upside down (if the field is strong enough)"

If it's a linear track, it's almost certain to be a Halbach array.

Re:Just in time

[SuricouRaven]

The plasma would also damage the surface beneath.

You could ride easily enough on a rapidly alternating magnetic field above a conductive surface - but again, there is the problem of powering such a thing. It's a neat trick to levitate a bowling ball in the air, but it takes many kilowatts of power to hold it up there, and a human is heavier. Current technology can't possibly fit all the gear for that in a board.

Re:Just in time

[DanielRavenNest]

That's because it doesn't have tilt resistance. On a skateboard with wheels, when you lean, the wheels on that side are compressed, and push back on your feet. The hoverboard doesn't have a restoring force when you tilt it, so you fall over. What they need are two parallel coils, spaced about a foot or more apart, so they have some tilt resistance. What they have now is like a skateboard where all 4 wheels are in a single line.

Re:Just in time

[Anonymous Coward]

That's because it doesn't have tilt resistance. On a skateboard with wheels, when you lean, the truck bushings are compressed, and push back on your feet. The hoverboard doesn't have a restoring force when you tilt it, so you fall over. What they need are two parallel coils, spaced about a foot or more apart, so they have some tilt resistance. What they have now is like a skateboard where all 4 wheels are in a single line.

FTFY

Nice sales pitch there

[damn_registrars]

creating enjoyment out of motion.

Unfortunately the top-selling Lexus is the ES series, which is anything but an enjoyment to be in. It is not by a long shot the worst car ever, but it is also far away from being the most enjoyable.

Another Lexus was also chosen by the Top Gear guys as The Worst Car in the History of the World, as well.

Re:Nice sales pitch there

[dinfinity]

Seriously, what the fuck is the use of this marketing bullshit in the summary?:
"Mark Templin, Executive Vice President at Lexus International said: "Embarking on this project, we set out to push the boundaries of technology, design and innovation to make the impossible possible. With this project we call 'SLIDE', we collaborated with partners who share our passion for creating enjoyment out of motion. Even through combining our technology and expertise, we discovered making a hoverboard isn't an easy process. We've experienced the highs and lows and have overcome a few challenges, but through mutual determination we have created a demonstration of our philosophy in design and technology to create Amazing in Motion."

It tells us absolutely nothing about completely uninteresting shit in way too many words, which comprise 80% of the 'summary'.
Seriously, what the fuck, Slashdot?

a magnetic track

[Anonymous Coward]

Woo. It hovers in a specially crafted "park" over magnetic track.

Now we just need every horizontal transportation surface to be magnetic.

How it works

[Anonymous Coward]

What they don't show is how it really works. There's a reason they built a custom skateboard park for it.

http://hackaday.com/2015/08/05/secrets-of-the-lexus-hoverboard-revealed/

Re:How it works

[Anonymous Coward]

Even the summary mentioned a magnetic track. It's not a stretch from there to understand how it works.

Re:How it works

[Anonymous Coward]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_BYvUlDviM

They say it works with superconductor electromagnetism. So probably like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9hatLT-vl4

Re:How it works

[Joce640k]

What they don't show is how it really works. There's a reason they built a custom skateboard park for it.

Um, yes they did - in the "making of" video that's linked from that one.

Hoverboard

[Anonymous Coward]

Would it not be cheaper and easier if you need a custom park anyway to make it like an air hockey table.
Then the board could be drop dead simple , requiring nothing fancy.

Re:Hoverboard

[omnichad]

Yeah...so blasting air at hundreds of PSI through tiny holes. Keep your arms and legs over the hoverboard at all times - lest they be chopped off by the high pressure air stream.

Re:Hoverboard

[Anonymous Coward]

They have those, they're used to train skydivers.

Re:Hoverboard

[Anonymous Coward]

It doesn't take much pressure to hover something flat just above the surface. Have you never seen (and touched) an air hockey table? Or in the reverse, consider a hovercraft. They are very gentle to the surfaces they float over - the pressure under a hovercraft is a fraction of a PSI above the ambient. A hoverboard needs more because the air cushion is smaller in area (relative to mass of board+rider), but nothing remotely dangerous. If you have an average skateboard, the area is about 240 square inches. That means an overpressure of 1 PSI is enough to float a combined weight of 240lbs.

Re:Hoverboard

[gl4ss]

blah blah, why do you thin it would cut off your damn arms?

it's not so bad, actually. ever see a free-fall vertical wind tunnel? just scale that up to skatepark size.

Re:Hoverboard

[omnichad]

Because an air hockey table isn't a wind tunnel. It's a flat surface with small holes producing the air cushion. It's like adapting a firehose to a pencil-sized opening. The smaller the hole, the higher the PSI required within the hole to get the same average PSI across the whole surface.

Re:Hoverboard

[Anonymous Coward]

Why would you make the holes pencil-sized and far apart? If you need an average PSI of say 1.0, you could make the holes take 25% of the surface and it would still be just 4 PSI inside the hole (assuming air pressure works the way you think - I don't actually think it does). So about a tenth of the pressure of a garden hose, if you decide to stick a finger in the hole? We're seriously not talking about huge pressures here. You could make a proof of concept out of plywood in your garage.

SLIDE

[Anonymous Coward]

::Fight Club Penguin GIF::

You're going to look so cool....

[OakDragon]

...laying that track down.

How fantastically useless

[Anonymous Coward]

and the pretentiousness of the video matches it perfectly.

2nd time this year the article has shown up

[rraylion]

I know it's the year of Back to the future.. but we saw this article already... or was that another timeline?

Re:2nd time this year the article has shown up

[wonkey_monkey]

Last time it was only a teaser trailer. You barely saw anyone put so much as a foot on the hoverboard until now.

A superconducting skateboard park?

[Applehu Akbar]

Would that mean that skating time in this park would cost comparably to time in an MRI machine? Not even Lexus drivers will be able to afford this.

Re:A superconducting skateboard park?

[PolygamousRanchKid]

A perfect new use case for the Large Hadron Collider at CERN: racing around the ring on Hover boards!

Re:A superconducting skateboard park?

[WolfWithoutAClause]

Nah it's just liquid nitrogen. Liquid nitrogen costs the same as milk. MRIs use liquid helium; whole other thing.

Re:A superconducting skateboard park?

[SuricouRaven]

The superconductors themselves are expensive. There are many high-temperature (relatively speaking) superconductors, but they are all exotic alloys of very precise crystal structure. Expensive to manufacture, and you'd have to coat a whole skate park in them. Plus the enclosed cooling system, and a durable insulator on top - you don't want people falling off into the inch-deep lake of liquid nitrogen, it isn't healthy.

Re:A superconducting skateboard park?

[WolfWithoutAClause]

That's not how any of this works; the board contains liquid nitrogen; the track is made of supermagnets.

Re:A superconducting skateboard park?

[SuricouRaven]

It would work equally well either way - and supermagnets too are very expensive.

Re:A superconducting skateboard park?

[WolfWithoutAClause]

It really wouldn't. If the track was superconducting it would require cooling the whole length with liquid nitrogen, and having just checked, it looks like superconducting materials are about ten times more expensive than neodymium magnets, so you wouldn't want to make the track out of superconducting materials.

Re:A superconducting skateboard park?

[SuricouRaven]

I think the diference is going to be between 'ridiculously expensive' and 'tremendously expensive.'

Superconductors.....

[Anonymous Coward]

Inside a specialy made skate ring ussing quatom lock.

Quantum-locked Superconductor

[Roger W Moore]

How many gigawatts will that thing run on, though?

Actually none - it uses liquid nitrogen to keep the superconducting pads below critical temperature. Hence the wisps of condensation from the feet of the rider in the video. The superconductor is then essentially quantum locked into the magnetic field produced by the buried track: any change in field would induce a current in the superconductor to oppose that change. This is actually a common physics demo they have just improved the presentation. Still it would be a fantastic way to make an entrance for a relevant lecture - I wonder if they offer academic pricing for the board and track installation...

Re: Quantum-locked Superconductor

[Anonymous Coward]

But a hoverboard begs the user to do sick moves. What if you wipeout and spill liquid nitrogen all over yourself? The liedenfrost effect won't protect you if you roll over in the stuff.

Re:Quantum-locked Superconductor

[romco]

magnetic field produced by the buried track

So the water is not very deep then?

Re:Quantum-locked Superconductor

[Roger W Moore]

...or the magnetic field is really strong!

So if I flip the board over....

[Anonymous Coward]

Does it stick to the ground with hundreds of pounds of force? Bye bye kick flip....

Re:So if I flip the board over....

[mark-t]

But you wouldn't be able to kick flip this thing anyways... nor even steer by leaning, for that matter.

It is useless as a skateboard except for stunts that require travelling in a straight line such as jumps that use a ramp.

Re:So if I flip the board over....

[mark-t]

Oh, and also no, it wouldn't stick to the ground at all. It's not the orientation of the magnets in the board that cause it to repel, it's what those magnets are made of and that they are kept cold enough to maintain the effect.

Re:So if I flip the board over....

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, you wouldn't even be able to make leave the ramp if it is quantum magnetically locked a few inches from the surface. But you could skate along "both" sides of a mobius strip, if the board had bindings.

Re:So if I flip the board over....

[mark-t]

I would imagine that it was moving fast enough, the inertia of the board and the person standing on it might be enough to still push it off the ramp.

Do want!

[jtownatpunk.net]

It'll go great with my BTTF2 shoes and holographic hat.

Lexus Hoverboard huh

[Comen]

I can not help but wonder if everyone that rides one acts like assholes rides slow while testing and thinks they own the whole skate park?

My Hoverpark is Full of Magnets!

[Irate Engineer]

Do you wannt to skate at my place, bouncy bouncy!

Re:My Hoverpark is Full of Magnets!

[Anonymous Coward]

If I told you your post is underrated, would you hold it against me?

Custom skate rink

[Anonymous Coward]

Why can't they use the Earth's magnetic field to achieve the same effect as the custom built skate rink. Of course, Earth's magnetic field is low in strength, so might need some device which can amplify it just below the board

Re:Custom skate rink

[mwvdlee]

Completely unnecessary. If they just put a device on the hoverboard which eliminated gravitational effects, it'd hover without any magnetism at all!
Alternatively, they could just invent thrust generators running on a perpetuum mobile energy source.
Requiring somebody to build laws-of-physics breaking technology to make your "invention" work makes you sound like an industrial designer.