Garret

One technique to solve the problem of hoverboard wheels is to make extremely light weight wheels for rolling or very hard landings. One great thing about hover boards is that they use the "ground effect" and reduce the strain on ankles on landing, yet skateboarding is currently about gaining momentum and then thrusting into the air, which means riders must adapt to new techniques or designers of hover boards must pony up to the reality if they expect early adoption from mass market exploits.

One great thing going about Hoverboards is that they fly and flying goes very deep in the desires of mankind. How would the landing gear be activated? One thought is to have a set of tap push button controls on the hoverboard for acceleration of hover motors and another to put up the landing gear, making the skateboard into a full-hoverboard. Three in the green and away they go hover board style?

Then if the landing were to be very hard or a rolling landing (airplane runway type rather than helicopter style) then the rider could tap the push button control to extend the landing gear and yes this would require lots of practice by the rider to become proficient.

Engineers are now designing the skateboards of the Future and are thinking here along with the Online Think Tank. One interesting dilemma for these designers currently is should these skateboards-hoverboards have wheels at all.

This is something that will ultimately be a compromise by designers and engineers and the desires of the riders purchasing the hover board technologies in the market place. Performance is on everyone's mind and so the mutual goals appear to be inline with each other.

L. Winslow is a Technology Advisor to the Online Think Tank, a Futurist and retired entreprenuer. Currently he is planning a bicycle ride across the US to raise money for charity and is sponsored by http://www.Calling-Plans.com and all the proceeds will go to various charities who sign up.