Chapter Three-The hover board
An idea that I had in my head for a while now finally became a reality when I used a 3d software program to create a design for the worlds very first Hover Board, It has to be bigger than a skate board but no bigger than a snow board, the platform must be able to support a person when moving at high speed as I do not know how fast you can actually go.
Carbon fiber material will be used to build the board, I think fixed footing to the board could be dangerous as the rider needs to able to get off it in an emergency, the rider also needs to be able to use one foot to push forward as you do on a skate board, so opting for slip in shoe’s is preferable sort of like a shoe without the heel on the back of it.
Both ends of the hover board will need to have a slight angle again the same as a skate board this will be used to slow down, aerodynamics will not be incorporated on the deck as I am aiming for stability style and safety, “Son let’s get to it! Remember you can’t tell anyone if this works we will not only be famous but rich beyond imagination do you understand son.”
My family are the only ones that I trust as friends will take advantage any chance they get, non-immediate family members will want money or worse kill you for what you have, well that’s my opinion, so they are the logical choice as you can’t get any loyal than that.
Cutting a small piece of AGM from the main rock about 0.2mm x 0.2mm should be enough to support my weight, centralizing the AGM underneath the board gave just enough tilt when I leant back or forward, the tilt was slow which is good for learning as it will give me time to control the board, the board will have two handles one on each side so the rider can crouch down and grab them for stability or for pulling off tricks, it will have a total of four for lefties and righties.
The hover board is simple but relatively easy to make but when it goes into mass production It is going to need some kind of safety seal or void if removed tag around the AGM “Ah I got it when the seal is removed from the protective box that is storing the sand, the grain of sand will be dissolved by a chemical that has been injected into the seal which will disable the hover board” the board will be useless and will fall to the ground, a sensor will record and upload the time and date it was tampered with to our servers if it has on board GPS it’s position will also be uploaded.
Customers will sign a contract stating that on purchasing AGM products any tampering will void any warranties, if seals are tampered with the AGM product will be disabled and you will be charged a fee to have it reactivated.
When the box above the AGM that contains the sand moves closer to the AGM the hover board will increase its height, so testing this theory was straight forward when the sand is moved away from the AGM the hover board will decrease in height and sit at ground level, the adjustment distance between the AGM and the sand is quite small.
Realizing I have bad credit I am not sure how to get funding when this takes off as I don’t want to share my discovery with anyone meaning having to seek out a partnership or investors but I am sure something will present itself in due time.
Completing the prototype within a week was quite easy, now the hard part riding it! I empty out the double garage to give me room to practice how to ride it.
Starting at one end I place my left foot on top of the board then move it forward then back like how you do with a skate board, positioning my left foot close to the front of the board I push off with my right foot and quickly place it on the back end of the board “awesome!” I shout out! As I glide across to the other side of the garage, 6 hours go by until I realize the time “come take a look at our new invention” I tell the rest of my family.
Displaying the hover board to the family they all had a turn on it then they hit me with all the questions, I spent another two hours explaining the events up till now.
The main question on our minds was how much money we will make from this venture? but before that happens safety gear needs to be made and at least 2 months continuous riding in an open area over land, water and other surfaces to make sure there are no dangers involved, all aspects from the hover board to the safety gear needs to be fully tested.
Three hover board prototypes are made me and my two kids are the testers, after we spend a week inside the garage “we need to move to an open out door area” the first thing that comes to mind is heading to the country side, the kids hate the idea but we have to sacrifice something in order to get to where we want.
Its summer so I think going to the east coast for the two months will be perfect, bought our gear such as tents, sleeping bags, blow up beds, food and everything in between, I found a place far from people and animals “get some sleep we have a big first day tomorrow guys” “night dad” the kids reply.
Up early 6am breakfast then into it! I fit a go pro to my head then cruise off for the first out door ride, all three hover boards are fitted with speedometers so we can determine different speeds on different terrain, the ride is smooth and flawless! Looking at the speedometer I get a reading of 20kmph this is totally different from riding a skate board or snow board as there is no ground resistance or stones to worry about.
Hundreds of tests are done over the eight weeks we camp there, tests included hovering over water, holes in the ground, up/down hills on abandoned roads, grass.
Water was one of the main concerns because if you were to hover over a creek or river how would you get off it? Easy lean forward a little so the board lifts up slightly like a sea saw by a few degrees, to move backwards lean in the opposite direction, this was tested on both river and sea water.
Emergency stops was another issue but the most obvious way to stop is to put one foot down on the ground again the same as a skate board but if you are traveling to fast you will need to lean forward to start a slow gradual stop, the other option and highly recommended one is to crunch down and grab the handles and lean forward to avoid loss of the board or have it hit someone at high speed or worse, but like most moving objects in a sport in can be mastered with practice and time.
The final hurdle is of course the sand, how will the hover board perform over a beach? Will it repel it upward if so how high? I decided to use a radio unit from my radio controlled helicopter to control the hover board as I don’t want to injure myself or get launched in to space, Heading out to a beach far from people? Wainuiomata beach would be a great place it is located in Wellington it stretches for miles, I grab the hover board from the boot of my car power up the radio unit hit record on the camera attached to the board then give it a nudge towards the sandy beach “nothing’s happening?” I don’t get it? Why didn’t it repel and go up?
Closer inspection reveals that there is more than just sand in the bucket filled sample I had taken home, if hovering over a beach it will not affect the board what so ever as the sand has to be dried and free from any other substances such as water, wood, dirt, I am happy that this discovery is now known to me.
Now that all tests are complete including safety checks it’s time to make up pricing and package deals but I want to make it affordable to everyone, keeping in mind that I can charge whatever I like, credit and layby will be available as well.
Children Pack (5-8 year, with guardian supervision) hover height limit (0.2 meters)
1: Basic starter pack-Includes hover board fixed speed of (5kmph) the board has fixed handle bars the same as a scooter.
safety gear which includes carbon fiber helmet, boots, three piece suit that has internal padding in the shin, knee, thigh, buttocks, wrist, elbow, chest areas and a few other places, gloves are also a must! A six hour training lesson includes safety and safety gear, how to balance, how to start and stop and slow down, how to turn, emergency stops, where to and not to ride, how to deactivate the hover board for transport and storage $400!
Children Pack (8-12 years, with guardian supervision)
1: Basic starter pack-Includes hover board fixed speed of (10kmph) hover height limit (0.5 meters)
The board has detachable handle bars the same as a scooter.
safety gear which includes carbon fiber helmet, boots, three piece suit that has internal padding in the shin, knee, thigh, buttocks, wrist, elbow, chest areas and a few other places, gloves are also a must! A six hour training lesson includes safety and safety gear, how to balance, how to start and stop and slow down, how to turn, emergency stops, where to and not to ride, how to deactivate the hover board for transport and storage $650!
Teen Pack (12-16 years)
1: Basic starter pack-Includes hover board fixed speed of (20kmph) hover height limit (1 meters)
safety gear which includes carbon fiber helmet, boots, three piece suit that has internal padding in the shin, knee, thigh, buttocks, wrist, elbow, chest areas and a few other places, gloves are also a must! A six hour training lesson includes safety and safety gear, how to balance, how to start and stop and slow down, how to turn, emergency stops, where to and not to ride, how to deactivate the hover board for transport and storage includes GPS $800!
Adult Pack (16-18 years)
1: Basic starter pack-Includes hover board fixed speed of (30kmph) hover height limit (2 meters)
safety gear which includes carbon fiber helmet, boots, three piece suit that has internal padding in the shin, knee, thigh, buttocks, wrist, elbow, chest areas and a few other places, gloves are also a must! A six hour training lesson includes safety and safety gear, how to balance, how to start and stop and slow down, how to turn, emergency stops, where to and not to ride, how to deactivate the hover board for transport and storage includes GPS $1,100!
Adult Pack (18-no limit years)
2: Advanced pack-Includes fixed speed of (60kmph) hover height limit (3 meters-Adjustable)
Everything from the basic adult starter pack with the added features of training in tricks and advanced maneuvers for extreme riding on and over ramps and also all terrain includes GPS $2,500
Extra’s include:
Clothing:
Helmets sizes-Child, Teen, Young adult, adult in various shapes ranging from $20-$200
Two piece suits-Pants, long sleeve tops and jackets in different styles sizes and colours $30-$350
Boots-In different styles sizes and colors $50-$430
Gloves-Various sizes, shapes and styles $15-180
Extra padding-Armor for extreme riders, complete armor covering the entire body $460
Hardware:
Bungee cord $25-1000mm x5mm tethers the hover board to the rider, clips on to boot the other end clips on to the board.
GPS $40-Used to locate the hover board in case it is stolen, app for this can be downloaded for free from the various market places online.
FPIM or Finger print identification module $240-This will allow the rider to embed their finger print into the hover board so it can be activated or deactivated and prevent a stolen board from been used by the thief.
More will be added as it gets under way, but first and fore most I need a company name? “AGM Corp that sounds good” after registering the available name I need patent my inventions and will also need to copyright my videos, pics and ideas etc.
The people at the patent office were gob smacked when they listened how I described my designs but the heart of the whole design the AGM would not be revealed to them, only me and my family would know its secret because I knew once it got out somebody will try to duplicate it, as they do!
Two long weeks later after registering the company name, patents and copyrights and so on seemed to drag on a bit but it’s now for the fun part making the T.V and radio ad’s also social media, social media videos and more, funding was made available through the people at the patent office as they all knew the potential of my inventions, I also mentioned that I would slap them all with a law suit if they reveled my inventions to anybody but they all understand the law as it is stipulated in their contracts.
Grateful for their funding offer I decided that they will be the first to receive their Adult package before anyone else in the world.
Our local T.V broadcasts will get the scope on launch day which will be 1st April 2014, setting up Video’s and social media events prior to launch will be a month before, It only takes a few days to set this all up and we only have one week until we go public on the advertising.
It’s now the day before the big reveal my whole family is excited and so am I! I don’t do crowd’s and I get nervous easily so I wander outside to my backyard and stand in the very spot I stood when the AGM first caught my eye, I ‘m not a drug addict but once in a while I like to have a puff on a joint to relive life’s stresses.
The launch is epic I make millions of dollars within a few short days, the hove board goes into mass production hundreds of thousands of new jobs are generated worldwide with the opening of new stores, factories, trainers the list goes on!
A new sport is created and entered into the Olympic Games called HB extreme or hover board extreme, hover board parks are erected worldwide, I receive the Nobel Prize on top of the other awards that are given to me, the first month was tiring due to the radio, TV shows, promotions and advertising it seems the world wanted a piece of me but you can’t blame them as I have… well partly invented the world’s first anti-gravity device.