Hoverboards are no longer relegated to Hollywood and your wildest day dreams.
As Josh Lowensohn of The Verge tells it, they could actually help protect buildings from natural disasters.
Lowensohn recently jumped on the chance to test ride the Hendo, a prototype (the 18th, actually) of the hover technology — or maglev — developed by Greg Henderson and his company, Arx Pax. (Currently, this hoverboard is priced at $10,000 — way outside of Marty McFly’s budget.)
How does it work?
As Henderson explains, “A magnet has an electromagnetic field. It is equal in all areas. It has a north and a south pole. What if you were able to take that magnet, and organize the magnetic field so that it was only on one side? And then you combine that with other magnetic fields in a way that amplifies and focuses their strength? That’s magnetic field architecture.”
Henderson’s ambitions for maglev are less acrobatic and more pragmatic: He’s already secured a patent for hover engines in the foundation of a building, which, he envisions, would lift them to safety from catastrophic events, such as floods and earthquakes.
He also has his eyes set on using hover technology to improve air travel. “Planes may be not so obvious, but maglev assisted takeover is something all of the big airplane manufacturers are looking at because takeoff is where all the energy is used,” he says.
Arx Pax is hoping to raise $250,000 to bring the current prototype to the next level with their Kickstarter campaign. For a $10,000, you can preorder your very own board.
Arx Pax is also offering The WhiteBox Developer Kit for $299, which includes one of their hover engines that people are encouraged to take apart and engage in different uses for it. Their “goal is inspiring co-creation with the entire community of tinkerers and makers and outside thinkers,” Henderson says.
“I guarantee one thing: we’re going to be surprised at the results.”
Tag: earthquakes
How Los Angeles Is Setting the Tone for Disaster Preparedness
Earthquakes, superstorms, hurricanes and flooding have become a mainstay in American headlines. But rather than simply brace for Mother Nature, Los Angeles is joining an international initiative to help cities better prepare for natural disasters.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced plans to hire a “chief resilience officer,” tasked with improving the city’s recovery plan from man-made or natural disasters, according to the Los Angeles Times. The mayor also committed to surveying the city for at-risk infrastructure in the event of a major earthquake as well as how efficiently the city is using water and electricity.
“Why should we be going and looking at buildings on their seismic safety if we don’t also look at the energy that they’re consuming and the water that they consume?” Garcetti said.
Los Angeles’s action is part of the Rockefeller Foundation’s effort to help cities around the world implement better safety prevention and planning. The aim is to help urban planners prepare for the influx of people moving to cities. In fact, the United Nations projects that three-fourths of the world’s population will move to an urban area by 2050, according to a Rockefeller Foundation report.
The nonprofit is awarding 100 cities with funding to hire a “chief resilience officer,” and has selected 33 recipients so far, according to the foundation website. Los Angeles is one of 372 cities that applied to become one of the 100 Resilient Cities, and the nonprofit has pledged to pay the salary of L.A.’s future CRO for the first two years, as well as other funding to develop a response plan.
But Los Angeles has already begun its efforts without the nonprofit’s help. The mayor approved action to hire three people at the building department to outline a list of vulnerable residential buildings. Garcetti also acknowledged support for a compulsory check on retrofitting older building at risk as well as grading buildings for seismic safety.
He also appointed a prominent U.S. Geological Survey seismologist to spend this year meeting with scientists and community members to draft recommendations on retrofitting buildings for better safety and ensuring water and communications systems remain available in the event of a disaster. The foundation’s president, Michael Berkowtiz, said he was “really impressed by the innovative and visionary leadership that the mayor was providing on these issues.”
New Orleans, Berkley and San Francisco have also been selected, adding “chief resilience officer” responsibilities to their respective earthquake czar job title. Another U.S. recipient using funding for sustainability issues: El Paso, Texas.
MORE: A New Museum Exhibit Educates About Disaster Preparedness
A New Museum Exhibit Educates About Disaster Preparedness
From ‘superstorm’ Sandy in 2012 to the countless forest fires that ravage the West every year, natural disasters are increasingly becoming a large part of American life. As a result, combating Mother Nature when she’s at her angriest requires not just innovation, but education, too.
That’s exactly what a new exhibit at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. aims to do, according to Next City. Organized into categories of earth, wind, fire, and water, “Designing for Disaster” is educating visitors about the history of disaster relief and prevention, as well as what works and what doesn’t.
Tales of large-scale projects such as flexible staircase joints at UC Berkeley’s California Memorial Stadium will surely draw in visitors, though it is the hands-on demonstrations and focus on everyday solutions that this exhibit is making the most difference with.
As the Washington Post writes, “The exhibit’s most compelling demonstrations show how innovative engineering solutions can reduce the impact of disasters and, in fact, already are.”
Whether highlighting family disaster plans, showcasing earthquake drills, or using an interactive feature to help visitors learn about the durability of different roof styles, Designing for Disaster is spreading knowledge.
As Americans flock to our nation’s capital during the summer vacation months, they can learn how others are preparing for natural disasters. And with that education, perhaps they can educate members of their own communities on how best to prevent future damage.
After all, while you can’t avoid Mother Nature’s fury, you can make sure you’re ready to meet it head on.
MORE: The Competition for Disaster Relief Funds Heats Up