Lexus 'Hoverboard' Gets Tested; Watch the 'Slide' in Action [Video]
Luxury vehicle manufacturer Lexus has finally released a video on what appears to be a working hoverboard that got its concept from the flying skateboard in the 1989 film, "Back To The Future."
In June this year, the company showed the first look of the device. The skateboard like equipment was first introduced in "Back to the Future II" when the character of Michael J. Fox visited the future in 2015.
At that time, Lexus said that the prototype "is a real, working device that can be ridden today," noted Popular Science.
On Tuesday, the company has finally revealed another video, which is part of their "Amazing in Motion" campaign that saw the hoverboard actually being ridden and tested.
Called the "Slide," the hoverboard "relies on superconductors and magnets, which work against gravity to lift board and rider above the ground," described Wired. It is equipped with liquid nitrogen that acts as a coolant to the superconductors to bring it at a -321 degrees Fahrenheit to make it a "superconductor."
Professional skater Ross McGouran and others can be seen testing the hoverboard. It was not easy for the skaters to balance themselves on the board unlike the usual skateboard because of the mechanism and the fact that it's "hovering."
It took them many falls and tries to actually move and make some tricks with it.
In the end, however, McGouran was successful in using the "Slide" and was even able to let it fly above a moving Lexus vehicle.
While the board in itself is real, part of the trick that made the "Slide" functional is the specially made skate park in Barcelona, Spain, where it was tested. The course on which McGouran and the other skaters tried the board has metal underneath to make the mechanism work. More than 200 meters of magnetic track was made in Dresden and brought to Spain for the test.
The "Slide" operated on the premise that magnets placed against each other with opposing poles will repel each other and cause a space in between.
While the hoverboard is a success, it might still be a long way off before people can see boards that move like the ones in the movie.
In fact, Lexus told Jeremy Korzeniewski from Auto Blog that it has no intention of selling the board.
It is currently part of the "Amazing in Motion" campaign that the car manufacturer launched to "showcase its imagination, innovation and design excellence."
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