Self-Balancing One Wheeled Skateboard Makes You Feel You Are Hovering In Air

Imagine a skateboard that “lets you fly over pavement on only a single wheel”. Well American firm, Future Motion, has created a contraption that can do just that. The skateboard is called the Onewheel and gives users the feeling of being on a hoverboard.

The gadget costs $1300, can reach a top speed of 12 mph and can turn 360 degrees within the length of the board. The board has one air-filled tire taken from a go-kart and uses motion sensors that you would find in any smartphone. The Kickstarter campaign was started about a week ago and has since surpassed its original goal of $100,000. At the time of this writing, the campaign stands at $194,450.

The controls of the board are simple and almost natural. Users who are not familiar with board sports can learn to use the Onewheel in a matter of minutes. By leaning toward the front, users can accelerate and by leaning back they can slow down or even reverse. The braking is regenerative and charges the battery. The firm says that to truly master the Onewheel, one must learn to ‘carve’ on pavement which is similar to what one would do on a snowboard or surfboard. With the Onewheel, however, riders don’t need snow or water to feel as if they’re sliding around. Onewheel users can ‘hover’ over pavement as easily and smoothly as if they were masters of anti-gravity.

The moving part is the wheel itself and requires no transmission to reach its top speed thank to the hub motor which uses state-of-the-art axial flux brushless motor technology. The powerful lithium iron phosphate batteries charge in 20 minutes using the fast charge option and provide peak power for acceleration and balancing. The board feels almost like an extension of your own body and is simple to balance, thanks to the powerful sensors and complex algorithms that help you maintain balance and control over the board with great ease.

The movie Back to the Future predicted that we would have developed hoverboards by this time and that everyone would be hovering over any surface. The Onewheel may not actually fly over water, but Marty McFly would still be impressed.