Project Description
In the science-fiction classic „Back to the Future II,“ actor Michael J. Fox whizzes through the streets on a skateboard that has no wheels – it floats over the ground like a hovercraft. This is precisely the technology that Felix Sewing and Alex Korocencev have been puzzling over. Their vehicle is based on four rotating discs that can induce a powerful, repulsive magnetic field on a metal plate located beneath it. The load capacity of the board is impressive indeed: the prototype can lift a considerable weight. In addition, the rotor discs can be tilted individually, allowing the board to be purposefully steered. The technology functions so well by this point that the two young researchers have even been able to apply for a patent covering the new arrangement of the magnets.
