Do you still know the movie "Back to the Future II" from 1989, in which Michael J. Fox played the main character Marty McFly and with Dr. Brown traveled back in time to 2015? There the term hoover boards was mentioned for the first time, but there it was a self-floating skateboard, which is also the translation of the term hoverboard.

The future that was shown back then is now our past and there are still no flying boards to this day. But: a small modification of it, which uses wheels attached to the side and at least reminds of the film scenes from the driving experience. Today the term hoverboard is still misleadingly used for this self-balancing, moving e-board on small wheels.

What is a hoverboard?

The term is made up of hover, which means to float, and board. As a result, it would be translated as a floating board, which does not match the actual function 100%. But in the broadest sense, you literally float over the asphalt, because the hoverboard is often so quiet that you can hardly hear it unless it beeps due to a weak battery or too high a speed.

The hoverboard is a board with two side wheels and internal batteries. Depending on the type and brand, the hoverboards mainly differ in terms of wheel size and weight. There are hard rubber wheels and pneumatic tires and the size ranges from 4.5 inches for children to 10-inch wheels, which are often typical for outdoor and off-road boards.