It is interesting to watch skate parks and skateboarding becoming so popular again. Indeed, there appears to be a 10-year cycle in that industry sub-sector. The Online Think Tank is assisting World Class Designers with innovative ideas to take the concept to a whole new level. We wish to re-design them and the skateboards too.

In fact we want to build hoverboard prototypes. These units will need to propel the 90-180 lb. average kid and therefore stay very low in the ground affect. The current hoverboards are the wrong shape, size, power and the aerodynamic flows are incorrect, but with all these new high tech materials perhaps this may in fact change. Materials such as Carbon Nano-Tubes. (yes your future golf clubs too.)

Matter of fact I am picking up an all-carbon 10-speed for my bike ride across the nation soon, charity fundraising effort. But Carbon Nano-Tubes, well that takes the whole thing to a whole new level. Imagine Lance Armstrong on a bike weighing 8 lbs? See ya!

With all the military UAV VTOL devices there is lots of hover parts that are much more powerful than before. “Four of those on a board” now that would life someone up and then they could rock and roll at a skatepark. Building the World’s Best Skate Park is easier said than done, especially when one’s starts out re-designing the entire sport from the ground up. Can it be done?

Well, the Online Think Tank believes it can and we want the skateboards to fly, literally. If you want to see some awesome new concepts in skateparks, then check this out;

http://www.acconci.com/img/296/bowl2_flat.jpg

L. Winslow is a Skate Board Advisor to the Online Think Tank, a Futurist and retired entrepreneur. Currently he is planning a bicycle ride across the US to raise money for charity and is sponsored by http://www.Calling-Plans.com and all the proceeds will go to various charities who sign up.

A study has just been completed by an online think tank, which seems to indicate that Skateboard Parks are changing and still evolving. There will be many high-tech changes and uses of technologies at these facilities, but there will be low-tech changes too.

Significant changes also on the low-tech side of skateboard parks and Hover Board Parks of the future must be considered as well. For instance they will double as rain-water collection areas, where the water will run off thru simple filtration systems to be used for cleaning, farming and other important uses.

In fact these concepts are already emerging as Architects and AIAs are considering the issues with challenges in future water supply. Water shortages in urban areas and growing suburbs as populations increase will be over-taxed to the breaking point. The Skateboard and Hover Board Parks offer a chance to collect rain-water.

Skaters for Public Skateparks (SPS), which is a 501(c)(3) non-profit group that specializes in promoting skateparks in the United States and abroad stated;

If your city doesn’t have a skatepark, then your city is a skatepark.

Their point is that if you do not want skateboarders around town in shopping centers, government properties or in front of businesses then you need a skatepark, because if a city chooses not to address the issue, they have already made a choice. Their group is an advocate for safety and free access to skateparks for all skateboarders;

Skateboarding is Not a Crime!

In the future we can expect more traveling skateboard parks perhaps the size of two tennis courts that will be delivered to parking lots of retail centers to promote the video games, hover boards, accessories and high-tech Virtual Reality digital equipment for the living room of the future.

These “Insta-Skate Parks” will come on two or three 18-wheelers and fold out and pop-up and be ready within hours for 10s of thousands of spectators and 100s of local hover boarders to compete and watch Pro-Exhibitions.

Flexible skateboard ramps at skate parks may also one day power up the lights for night skating by generating energy as the skateboarder puts energy into the ramp. Low wattage bright lights will then be directed down onto the skatepark and shine bright without taking a huge chunk out of the City’s electrical bills. The Skateboard Parks will continue to evolve well into the year 2020.

L. Winslow is a Economic Advisor to the Online Think Tank, a Futurist and retired entrepreneur. Currently he is planning a bicycle ride across the US to raise money for charity and is sponsored by http://www.Calling-Plans.com and all the proceeds will go to various charities who sign up.

Hover Board designers have many more options now then they did a decade the prior. This is because of new Space Age Materials such as Carbon Nano Tubes. Indeed the single most important component that is currently fueling the innovation of Hover Boards.

A Hover Board might look a high-tech Vertical Take-Off and Landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle than a modern day custom wooden skateboard. Of course it would have less need for Horiztonal or Vertical Stabilizers since the rider will use his body weight to shift and steer the board.

Since the speeds will be lower the wing type areas would be fatter and incorporated into the board. If the board is powerful enough we can imagine a rider on top of a futuristic aircraft design

In fact with all the Military UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) and VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) R and D and new propulsion devices on the market there are a lot small powerful hover motors and hover parts available today that have much more performance than ever before.

So, it is time to strap “Four of those on a board” and usher in a new age in Skateboarding rising the sport to a whole new level. The technology exists now that can lift a person up and then they could rock and roll at any skateboard park.

We can be sure that some radical dare-devil will be roaring ready to give it a rip and try out some awesome tricks on whatever the superstar engineers do come up with. Actually, I would not mind trying it out myself - How about you?

L. Winslow is a Technology Advisor to the Online Think Tank, a Futurist and retired entrepreneur. Currently he is planning a bicycle ride across the US to raise money for charity and is sponsored by http://www.Calling-Plans.com and all the proceeds will go to various charities who sign up.

Everyone knows what a skateboard looks like, but will it always look like that? The reason I ask is that in the 1900s a skateboard was a two-by-four with roller skate wheels attached and a basket or crate in the middle used to zoom down hills and crash on.

So, obviously the modern day skateboard is nothing similar. Thus one must ask what will the Hover Boards of the future be like and what shape will they be? These future hoverboards can be any shape and designers being unlimited in thought must consider all shapes for instance possible shapes might be;

• Spade Shape - Deck of Cards
• Manta Ray Shape
• Frisbee Shape
• Triangle Shape
• Stealth Fighter Shape
• Pentagon Shape
• Tear Drop Shape
• Oval Shape
• Bernoulli Flying Wing with Gates

Whatever shape is chosen it must provide the aerodynamic solutions for our challenges. It would be smart to stay away from shapes that are too wide because as the rider turns the sides would hit the ground and the lower the unit hovers the better the performance when in full-ground affect. Indeed the wings would be fatter more rounded and less swept with more camber. The point is we are not bound by the shape of the present period skateboard we are talking about the Future.

Additionally another important point is that we must not waste any airflow in our design. Thus air which is blown underneath will need to be re-used thru a series of design shaping strategies to force that air back along the aerodynamic structures of the hoverboard body.

The goal is to build a hover board which can travel like a hockey puck on and near table game board; very fast and maneuverable. Then use that speed to gain lift from the relative wind and use deflection strategies for maneuvers and tricks, jumping and clearing objects. Since forward flight does exist also the rider will employ angle of attack strategies as well.

If the rider decides to slow down or turn directions then they will simply pivot the board into the relative when and use that to slow down and change directions. During this transitional phase flight the airflow coming at the bottom of the hover board will need to be trapped and redirected back around thru the turbines rather than fighting them so the rider can zoom off and the other direction.

One other consideration to all this is that the rider’s feet or shoes will get in the way of the airflow and since they will be adjusting their feet position for stability, it makes sense to have a raised platform where the rider will stand away from the actual board. In doing this the Bernoulli Principle and venture effect might also be employed forcing the airflows to speed up and into the intake area for the hover blowers.

All this is possible but it will radically change the design and looks of what we consider to be a modern-day skateboard. The futuristic design will be very cool looking and like nothing you have ever seen before. Will it fly? Yes and like nothing else you have ever seen either.

L. Winslow is a Technology Advisor to the Online Think Tank, a Futurist and retired entrepreneur. Currently he is planning a bicycle ride across the US to raise money for charity and is sponsored by http://www.Calling-Plans.com and all the proceeds will go to various charities who sign up.

Hoverboards will be the skateboards of the future and they will also have all the cool technology of the future which will be fully integrated. Riders of the future hoverboards will be able to do seemingly impossible tricks that will amaze us all.

As the Online Think Tank got further into our study of the future of hoverboards, the skateboard market and the possible technology needed for it all to come to fruition, we noticed other rapidly advancing technologies in many sectors including potential military transfer technologies which will be available in 5-10 years.

So what else are software planners considering designing into the new hover boards? Well how about; Hover Board Formation Flying (Swarming). You and your friends can fly along and never crash into each other. These same technologies will one day be in all the cars on the road preventing accidents and allowing for efficient traffic flows where cars and trucks are driving or flying down a virtual highway at incredible speeds only a few feet or perhaps inches from one another.

There will be various settings for this, but the most common will be a system which allows the riders of the formation to average off the leader and then re-adjust as necessary, so a family or friends can fly thru the neighborhood together if they wish. Anti-collision software and sensors will also be available and have a tremendous number of applications as well.

Anyone who is a pilot knows that formation is a lot of fun and to it will be fun on hoverboards and with special sensors and software. These features will be an add-on components that will be enjoyed by sports enthusiasts.

L. Winslow is a Technology Advisor to the Online Think Tank, a Futurist and retired entrepreneur. Currently he is planning a bicycle ride across the US to raise money for charity and is sponsored by http://www.Calling-Plans.com and all the proceeds will go to various charities who sign up.

As with the skateboards, hover board operators will be responsible for their skill level and thus need to consider this before trying any outrageously radical tricks or maneuvers. The rider provides the propulsion on a skateboard, but on a hoverboard, they will provide less propulsion, but rather assistance only for the hoverboard like a powered skateboard.

The rider will of course be in charge of Steering and Control on a hover board, but the board will fly and this means softer landings, more air off the ramps and new tricks that have never even been thought of. But realize too with better performance will come serious injuries whne mistakes are made and thus more skill, practice and perhaps high-tech training tools need to also be discussed prior to “off the chart” radical maneuvers by advanced and non-advanced riders.

Hoverboard instructors and trainers and digital training tools, eLearning tools and virtual reality simulators will add billions of dollars to the industry and thousands of potential jobs. Hoverboards may be outfitted with haptic sensors on the surface to sense the riders weight distribution as he or she leans on one or more parts of the board, thus anticipating the riders needs and adjusting accordingly and storing the information in memory by learning to work with a specific rider thru the employment of Artificial Intelligence strategies.

The introduction of Artificial Intelligence into the stability control system and hoverboard’s operating System will provide a smoother ride and become one with the operator for better execution of tricks and maneuvers and a more pleasurable ride. These systems are available and are quite simple in fact, considering their abilities.

L. Winslow is a Technology Advisor to the Online Think Tank, a Futurist and retired entrepreneur. Currently he is planning a bicycle ride across the US to raise money for charity and is sponsored by http://www.Calling-Plans.com and all the proceeds will go to various charities who sign up.

Extreme Skateboarding is unlike any sport in the world and the athletic talent, skill and agility to compete at that level is 1:100,000. In the future these events and these riders will be using some new high-tech toys, namely; The Hover Board. It is the wave of the Future.

Speed is paramount for hoverboard tricks. If the speed is maintained as the rider increases altitude then the craft or hover board will get some help from aerodynamic lift if the rider uses proper techniques to control the board and has the skill to maintain some relationship with flight. A stalled out board that is too high off the ground will fall out of the sky and it will the riders responsibility to land up-right and use the ground cushion to break his fall.

The hoverboard operator will need to think in terms of the old adage; “Speed is Life” and maintain the speed as he increases in height. Actually, considering that skateboard riders already do this as they “Catch Air” off ramps this should not be too difficult and in the end hoverboards will allow for greater height and better control once airborne, unless the rider makes a mistake and departs from flight; in that case all bets are off, good luck, as the ground cometh.

What kind of propulsion system will these high-tech hoverboards have?

The ideal propulsion system would be a set of flat ion-lithium or lighter batteries, charged by a think film solar cell coating of the hover board’s surface and a way to use a fast-charge system via 110v electricity socket. The blower units preferably would be 4-6 set in a specific pattern below the board. So far there are quite a few propulsion systems that have been floated and there are several companies, inventors and entrepreneurs who have workable prototypes all of which hold keys to the ultimate success for the hoverboard of the future.

L. Winslow is a Technology Advisor to the Online Think Tank, a Futurist and retired entrepreneur. Currently he is planning a bicycle ride across the US to raise money for charity and is sponsored by http://www.Calling-Plans.com and all the proceeds will go to various charities who sign up.

Designing the hoverboards of the future is not easy, of course nothing good in life is, now is it? Think for a second what is needed. For a teen to ditch his skateboard and go for a new high-tech hoverboard, well it be pretty spectacular and have awesome performance. Consider if you will the barriers the engineers and designers must over come;

• Air Resistance
• Gravity
• Maneuverability
• Hard Ground
• Speed Needed to Excite Rider

With regards to air-resistance we can excite the rider at speeds less than 35 miles per hour, as skateboards currently are not ridden much faster than that anyway, when they are it is either being towed behind a car, going downhill or crashing as it falls back to Earth off a radical skateboard park ramp. Thus item number one can be overcome. Gravity can be beaten by proper use of airflows, aerodynamics, ground cushion, low pressure and perhaps air-ionization thickening strategies.

Once we have good physics in place to overcome these issues, we will rely on the ability of the rider to maneuver the hoverboard. Indeed this will require experience and skill and some additional considerations of the physics of deflection of relative wind, lift and board aerodynamics in various positions during transitional flight.

Now then how much performance is needed? Well we know from high-speed motorcycle racing that no matter how much power you give a human being, they always want more power! We do however have weight limitations, which are not of grave concern for the hover technologies in the ground cushion, but get very serious as one gets away from the ground. Blowing 1-2 Lbs of low pressure under a hovercraft can lift unbelievable amounts of weight.

So, it appears that the hoverboard is a potential technological threat to the skateboard and we may find that within less than a decade it replaces it completely.

L. Winslow is a Technology Advisor to the Online Think Tank, a Futurist and retired entrepreneur. Currently he is planning a bicycle ride across the US to raise money for charity and is sponsored by http://www.Calling-Plans.com and all the proceeds will go to various charities who sign up.

Let us put skateboarding aside for a second and consider hover craft designs, hover boards prototypes and the reality of the forces of nature that they must deal with to perform. Let’s explore both on planet and off planet activity for a moment to fully grasp what is going on.

One of the biggest considerations of Hoverboards will be the need for a very efficient propulsion system which is low-weight and powerful enough to over come issues with air-resistance as speeds increase. Hoverboards which are used on Earth will most likely have speeds of up to 45 miles per hour or less due to hyperbolic coefficient of drag curves as speeds increase. Since these technologies will be used where the air is most thick near the ground this makes sense.

If these technologies are to be used on other planets they may be able to propel the rider or a robot at much greater speeds without dealing with the thickened atmosphere and yet still this provides yet another consideration, the hover craft or hover board must work harder to lift the weight provided the planet is similar in gravity. If less gravity, one could design a hover board planet surface rover type exploratory device that would be quite efficient indeed.

Now let’s get back to Earth and remember our goal is to propel a 90 to 160 pound kid around at a pace, speed and maneuverability that is desired by a human in their prime of life period of athletic ability and agility. That is what we are really talking about and we must remember that we have somewhat fixed challenges to over come here on Earth.

What sort of propulsion device do you think would work best for a Hoverboard? The Online Think Tank has floated many potential propulsion devices and some are not so far out of this world and are worthy of further exploration.

L. Winslow is a Technology Advisor to the Online Think Tank, a Futurist and retired entrepreneur. Currently he is planning a bicycle ride across the US to raise money for charity and is sponsored by http://www.Calling-Plans.com and all the proceeds will go to various charities who sign up.

Wheels have always been an integral part of skateboarding and yet this is all about to change as the era of the Hoverboard is ushered in. Remember wheels on the ground cause friction and that means slower boards. The whole idea of the hoverboard is to reduce friction and increase speed like a hockey puck on an air-hockey table. When wheels are involved the boards are slower and will be much less maneuverable and of course this directly corresponds with a decrease in the fun factor.

If you will recall in the Hollywood Movie "Back to The Future II" there were no wheels on the hoverboards and you can see the increased exhilaration that the rider experienced. Of course as skateboards turn to hover boards in the interim skateboards will most likely do some of both; that is to say they will be more like Hover Board Combos.

For a full transition of skateboards to hover boards we must ditch the wheels, but this will not be as easy as it sounds. Indeed, we may even see frictionless wheels without bearings which will really increase the speed and performance of skateboards. Magnetic wheels if introduced before Hoverboards may lengthen the time to full adoption of hoverboards by as much as a decade. This is because something as revolutionary as frictionless wheels will give the skateboard new life blood to keep the industry sector going with increased sales, sponsorship and marketing dollars.

Any leap-frog technologies will then need to out perform the new skateboards with magnetic friction-less wheels by quite a bit to cause consumer migration to those new technologies. Still the first hoverboards for the skateboard market will most likely have to incorporate the friction-less wheels if they become available prior to wide spread hoverboard use. Therefore it appears that although these two technologies are diametrically opposed and competing, they also can compliment each other.

For instance let’s say that magnetic wheels are introduced into the Skateboard Market in six months; this will cause a new rotation upswing in the decade long skateboard market sector. Therefore the perfect time to introduce the new hoverboards of carbon nano-tube construction will be at the top of that natural product cycle and industry sub-sector top and begin a new product cycle in an already hyper-invigorated market segment.

L. Winslow is a Technology Advisor to the Online Think Tank, a Futurist and retired entreprenuer. Currently he is planning a bicycle ride across the US to raise money for charity and is sponsored by http://www.Calling-Plans.com and all the proceeds will go to various charities who sign up.