Flight has always been a key part of the human imagination. The highly successful Back To The Future franchise introduced us to Marty McFly, shooting away from villains on a flying skateboard. Firmly lodged in our dreams, many people have hoped that one day this invention would become a reality. Now, it seems, it has.
Lexus, the Japanese luxury car manufacturer, posted a teasing video to its website. Called ‘Slide’, the air board is like a skateboard without its wheels. Slide uses the same technology as magnetic levitation trains, which allows it to avoid friction and gain speed. But if you dreamt of hovering to work in the mornings, you may be disappointed. As Slide uses liquid nitrogen, and cooled and superconducting permanent magnets, it can only work on special tracks.
The board is made from bamboo, and a top-secret material Lexus is describing only as ‘high tech’, with features taken straight from the current line of cars. However, only one board was manufactured, and it will not be offered for sale. Nonetheless, for those who enjoy technology and engineering, the highly innovative project is still extremely exciting. The prototype will be tested in Barcelona, Spain, in the next few weeks, and is due to be completed by October. Perhaps the flying skateboard will soon become a new means of transport after all.
