Doha: After unveiling Lexus Hoverboard in June, the company is completing a final reveal of the project concluding testing phase in Cubelles, Barcelona.
Mark Templin, Executive Vice- President, Lexus International, said: “With the project we call ‘SLIDE’, we collaborated with partners who share our passion for creating enjoyment out of motion. We discovered making a hoverboard isn’t an easy process but through determination, we have created a demonstration of our philosophy in design and technology to create Amazing in Motion.”
Takayuki Yoshitsugu, Chief Representative, Middle East and North Africa Representative Office, Toyota Motor Corporation, said, “The hoverboard represents a breakthrough, opening the door to a future with unlimited possibilities. It epitomises our quest for technological leadership.”
The project began 18 months ago in collaboration with scientists from IFW Dresden and evico GmbH, who specialise in magnetic levitation technology.
Following testing with pro skateboarder and hoverboard test rider Ross McGouran, in Dresden, Germany, the team pushed the hoverboard to limits and conducted further tests in a hoverpark, combining elements from skate culture with technology within its architecture.
Up to 200 meters of magnetic track was transported to Barcelona from the Dresden facility to lay beneath the hoverpark surface to create the dynamic test, offering Lexus opportunity to demonstrate tricks no skateboard could perform, like travelling across water.
Lexus has captured the final ride footage and released it as a film led by award-winning director Henry-Alex Rubin.
The hoverboard technology features two “cryostats” — reservoirs in which superconducting material is kept at -197 degrees through immersion in liquid nitrogen. The board is placed above a track that contains permanent magnets.
Dr Oliver de Hass, evico CEO, said: “The magnetic field from the track is ‘frozen’ into the superconductors in the board, maintaining the distance between the board and the track — essentially keeping the board hovering. This force is strong enough to allow the rider to stand and jump on the board.” The film “SLIDE” features the high-performance GS F and is part of the fourth project in the ‘Amazing in Motion’ series.
The Peninsula
