Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. HOMEPAGE

This one-wheeled hoverboard lets you 'surf on land'

XR0A8511
Hoverboard Technologies new one-wheeled electric skateboard. Hoverboard Technologies

2015 may have been the year of the two-wheeled hoverboard. But now there's a one-wheeled board

Advertisement

The boosted skateboard will be 10 times powerful than its competitors, says Robert Bigler, inventor and CEO of Hoverboard Technologies. It will reportedly be faster and go for longer distances on a single charge than hoverboards with two wheels.

"It feels like a magic carpet, like you're surfing on land," he tells Tech Insider.

Powered by an electric motor, it will have one wheel in the middle and will supposedly stabilize when you step on it. Two-wheeled hoverboards include a 500-watt motor, but the one-wheeled hoverboard will have a 5,000-watt one — making it that much more powerful.

Depending on the motor, it can go up to 30 miles without a charge, Bigler says. This is about twice the distance as its two-wheeled competitors. 

Unlike other hoverboards, this board will be open source. Riders could swap out the motor for an even faster one, dictate the color of the LED lights, and program the board's sensors to be more sensitive to their movements, Bigler says.

Advertisement

If a rider accidentally nicks their board, they can unscrew the deck and replace it.

"We built it to be taken apart," Bigler says.

He also claims it will be safer than other hoverboards on the market. 

As the Tech Insider team can attest, two-wheeled hoverboards are not easy to navigate. If one foot falls off, the board can spin the rider around uncontrollably. Some riders have also reported their hoverboards burst into flames

Advertisement

The one-wheeled hoverboard will sense if you start to fall off and slow down to a halt, Bigler says. It won't keep moving unless the rider has two feet firmly on the board.

Still, whether they have two wheels or one, these fancy rolling scooters aren't technically "hoverboards" since they don't actually levitate.

There are companies trying to create Back to the Future Part II-style hoverboards that do levitate, however. Last year, Lexus unveiled a levitating hoverboard, but it only worked in a skate park that had magnets on the track. The company also said it doesn't plan to sell it to the public.

In October, tech company Arx Pax released a new version of its maglev Hendo hoverboard that floats a few inches from the ground. Most recently, there was the $20,000 hoverboard from the privately-owned space company ArcaSpace that's powered by 36 fans.

Advertisement
arcaboard
The ArcaBoard. ARCA Space Corporation

The one-wheeled hoverboard's Kickstarter raised more than $257,000 in September, and Bigler says the first version will be sent to funders this spring. But the hoverboard won't be cheap when it's released in 2017 to the public; the price tag starts at $4,375.

Design Silicon Valley
Advertisement
Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.

Jump to

  1. Main content
  2. Search
  3. Account