Twitter’s been buzzing with activity after videos surfaced of what appears to be a man floating around Times Square with the help of a hoverboard in much the same way the villainous Green Goblin of Marvel Comics fame would. You half expect to see Spider-Man swinging down to knock him from his hoverboard. The exciting part is that this isn’t — as far as we know, anyway — a serious marketing stunt for an upcoming Spider-Man film.
It’s possibly a product that might soon be available for purchase, although not for anyone on a budget. The company Omni Hoverboards has produced what it calls the “world’s first electric hoverboard.” It’s seems to combine some sci-fi from the 1980s and ’90s with reality — a bit of Back to the Future meets actual, physical technology.
It’s not one of those hoverboards found in Boy Scout magazines, either. This can’t be built by combining a lawn mower engine with a bunch of leaf blowers. The hoverboard in the video flies at least 10 to 15 feet off the ground, easily clearing the heads of the amazed passersby that film the event with their phones. There are no real answers yet as to what powers and propels the board.
Oh nothing – just a dude flying around NYC… pic.twitter.com/qJp2mKgV8R
— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) June 21, 2021
We reached out to Omni Hoverboards to ask whether the hoverboard is one of theirs, but we haven’t heard back from the company yet. In April, another video emerged that did depict one of Omni Hoverboard’s machines. If you want to get your hands on one, though, it will cost upwards of $20,000. The above article suggests that a launch date might be close, but again, there is nothing solid.
Could you fly one of these devices to work? Well, probably, if you live near your workplace. As cool as the hoverboard is, there are safety considerations. The idea of a hoverboard zooming just above your head doesn’t sound fun.
Either way, the introduction of an actual, working hoverboard promises a lot of excitement and fun if consumer models become readily available. Until then, you’ll have to get around the old-fashioned way — by walking.
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