Hoverboard
Getting around in an efficient way is important in everyone’s everyday life. As technology continues to advance, we find new, lazier methods of getting. From in the start everyone had no choice to walk to get around. Eventually horses were introduced and from there we went to cars. Now we seem to be a focus on creating a transportation method that creates a very efficient way of getting around in a compact device. Around campus each day I see bikes, skateboards, and scooters that individuals utilize to get from class to class. But now in this new day of technology, rather than a device that we have to power ourselves, the use of electronics leads to the creation of devices that power their self through the streets.
Today’s post is going to talk about hoverboards. There are two specific hoverboards that I’m going to go over; one being the popular one that you probably already know about and seen but the other is a different kind that I think is also pretty cool.
So the first focus is going to be on the Swegway type boards that I believe are pretty well known. Even around the campus, I have seen multiple students riding these to their classes. These boards were released back in October of 2015 and have made a large surge into society’s interest. They gained so much popularity due to the advanced technology that allows you to balance on the board with no effort and travel around 10 mph with ease. For those of who you haven’t tried riding on one of these, I highly recommend it because it is quite a neat feeling to be self-balanced and simple leaning moves you in whichever direction you want. But before I can recommend anyone getting these you first have to look at the “glitches”. The only thing worth mentioning here is that if you didn’t know, these devices had the problem of randomly exploding and catching on fire. Pretty neat trick right? But there have been cases of it simple catching on first while charging, catching on fire while being rode, and catching on fire when just left on its own. The whole reason for this is the specific battery they use to power the device because it need a lot of power in a small motor to be able to do what these boards are designed for. But nonetheless, cool device and if the exploding problem is fully fixed then I see these becoming extremely popular.
The second type of hoverboard is not out yet, but I definitely think these give the real feeling of what the “futuristic hoverboard” was designed to be like. This device is simply a skateboard with a large motor in the center with a single wheel. I have not seen one in person or have been able to ride one but these look pretty neat. This board has only a 16 minute charge time but can travel up to 12 miles away and up to 16 miles per hour. This I think is extremely cool because the charge time is so short yet the range is still more than enough to get to where you need a back. I’m looking forward to following what occurs with these but don’t think I will be getting one anytime soon with prices ranging from 3-3.5 thousand dollars.
As always, here are the sites if you would like to learn more:
Swegway: http://www.swegwayboards.uk/
Hoverboard: http://hoverboard.com/
Alex Dufresne says
Overall I think the technology is really cool, the only thing I dislike is that they call the first type hoverboards! Whoever named it that has obviously not seen Back to the Future and until we get REAL hoverboards everything else will be an imposter to me.
Brett C says
Personally I like the moderate exercise that you get by walking to your classes. I think the novelty of these products is really high and people would love to try them out and possibly even use them for recreating yet as a legitimate method of transportation the cost would have to come way down. At $4,000 that board costs over twice what my car at home did!
Nicholas Babich says
I do not fully understand the social stigmas associated with these hover boards; I thought that only strange folk ride them. nonetheless, they are an interesting gadget and I definitely want to try using one of these two types at least once before they become obsolete. Great post