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How the 'hoverboards' took off in spite of laws against them
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- allsystemsgo 11y agoI don't think it's meant to be a 100% replacement of walking. Personally I think of it as a toy.
- JulianMorrison 11y agoNot everything is about effing obesity. Sometimes fun is just fun. Seriously, the way people whine and whinge about them, you'd think they never did anything unless it was for some grimly healthy purpose.
- IshKebab 11y agoIt's more for fun than transport.
- xlm1717 11y agoSounds a lot like FUD.
- josephpmay 11y agoThey're faster than walking or skateboards, and also incredibly fun
- smacktoward 11y agoBut then how would celebrities show off their wealth and status? Everyone has feet.
- xlm1717 11y agoThey are actually coming down in price quickly. When I first read about them they cost at least $2000. Saw them in the mall the other day for $500.
- smegger001 11y agoI hope that sort of price drops continues to similar devices like the MXB Motocross-boards (motocrossboard.com) I have been looking at them for a while as alternative to driving, as work home and classes are not exactly close together for walking and biking.
- jp555 11y agoYou can't out-exercise a bad diet.
- nqzero 11y agonot really true - if you walk 10-12 hours a day, i'm pretty sure you could eat anything you were capable of and not gain weight (assuming that you start in reasonably good shape - if you're already overweight then just walking would put you out of the fat-burning "zone")
- bblough 11y agoAccording to Mayo Clinic, walking at 3mph burns between 314-469 kcals/hr [1], depending on weight. That's 3140-5628 kcals for 10-12 hours of walking, depending on weight. Now consider the amount of calories available [2]. I could have the IHOP meal for breakfast, walk for 12 hours (side note: who the heck has time to walk for 12 hours?), not eating anything all day, then eat the Dickie's meal for dinner, and still be well over the kcals burned. jp555 is right, you can't out-exercise a bad diet - what you eat matters. [1] http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/exercise/art-20050999?pg=2 http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-d... [2] http://news.health.com/2015/06/03/the-9-highest-calorie-meals-at-chain-restaurants/ http://news.health.com/2015/06/03/the-9-highest-calorie-meal...
- jp555 11y agoThe fat burning zone (I prefer the term "fat burning bias" because it's not a switch but a gradient) would only begin to dominate as you use up all the energy in the food you eat. Any food you eat (not just carbs!!!) will cause insulin to be released, which "smothers" the fat release signaling (just like you wouldnt dip into savings when you have cash on hand). Only when available food energy diminishes, and therefore insulin diminishes does the catecholamine (epinephrine, etc) signal dominate, driving body-fat release for use as metabolic fuel.
- Houshalter 11y agoIt appears to be much faster. It certainly looks fun to ride. Skateboards burn much less energy than walking too. I don't see anyone calling them obesity boards. Or calling motorized bikes obesity bikes, etc.
- mod 11y ago> Skateboards burn much less energy than walking too Per distance traveled, sure. But probably not per minute, in typical use.
- josefresco 11y agoWhy do we have skateboards, bikes, scooters, inline skates...? Fun. Don't be distracted by the "personal transport" jargon.
- JulianMorrison 11y agoI've seen people using them for transport (actually, a big wheel unicycle version). In a place like London that's very walkable, but very large, it makes sense.
- deelowe 11y agoBikes aren't used for transport?
- randall 11y ago"Why do Segways provoke this reaction? The reason you look like a dork riding a Segway is that you look smug. You don't seem to be working hard enough." http://www.paulgraham.com/segway.html http://www.paulgraham.com/segway.html
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- JoshGlazebrook 11y agoThe funny thing is all these "hoverboards" are the same exact device from China. You can get them off alibaba for $200 or spend $1,500 for some American branded version that is the same exact thing.
- josefresco 11y agoLink for the curious?
- andrewmunsell 11y agoYou can try Alibaba or Aliexpress usually: http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20151014073139&SearchText=hoverboard http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=SB...
- razster 11y agoTons of reviews on Youtube, a lot of people take them apart and find that modelX is the same as modelY and so on. If they look close to the one she has, it is the most rebranded model. Check out Amazon and search for 2 wheel hoverboard, peoples reviews tell you too.
- thoman23 11y agoYeah, I was reading a little about it and it's fascinating. It's a case of the full product development capabilities moving into the actual factory, so no outside company needs to design or own the product. The actual factory stamps it out and the outside company just brands it and sells it retail. And when combined with nonexistent intellectual property protections, in this case, no one even seems to be sure which company or factory originated the design. And no one cares. The downside is there is no way for the consumer to rely on a trusted brand with good quality. It's a total crapshoot.
- randyrand 11y ago> no one even seems to be sure which company or factory originated the design It's all from the same factory in China. > brand with good quality. It's all from the same factory in China.
- k__ 11y agoAre these the real life version of conveyor belt sidewalks the scifi autors wrote about?
- frandroid 11y agoYou can see those in airports already?
- k__ 11y agoBut not on the streets :\
- pavel_lishin 11y agoNot yet: http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_eye/2015/09/11/nbbj_proposes_turning_london_s_circle_line_into_a_17_mile_moving_walkway.html http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_eye/2015/09/11/nbbj_proposes_...
- LastZactionHero 11y agoI actually see these boards in airports as lot as well.
- digi_owl 11y agoReminds me that a design company was pitching the conversion of the London underground into a network of conveyor belts. 5 lanes, 3 speeds, so that the ones closest to the edges were just about walking speed, while the innermost was somewhere close to a jog (or perhaps even a run).
- alexc05 11y agoTo be clear, with most of the celebrity adopters, they're often given the device and sometimes paid to use it. Here in Toronto, I've seen marketing teams of people handing out this device and rolling around Yonge-Dundas square (sometimes cast as times square in feature films) in a guerilla marketing push. It doesn't mean they're not cool and fun, but the breathless articles about how cool, hip, and trendy people are "suddenly using the device" are often coordinated.
- digi_owl 11y agoNo surprise there, as one of the objections mentions is the "stare" factor. That is, how much do you like to be stared at while doing something.
- hodwik 11y agoHave been riding one of the single wheel versions of this. Incredibly difficult, but fun none the less.
- lightbritefight 11y agoBoosted boards are still the best "hoverboard" for my money: http://boostedboards.com/ http://boostedboards.com/ The price is prohibitive, but the market now has something like 7 or 8 brands competing, so I expect the price will come down in the next year or so.
- andrewmunsell 11y agoI happen to have a Yuneec E-Go, but recently there's been some cheaper knock offs appearing. Honestly I'm not sure what order they came in, but the Magneto electric board has several look a likes that are in the ~$300 range: - Magneto: http://magnetoelectricskateboard.com/ http://magnetoelectricskateboard.com/ - Alternatives on Alibaba: http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/electric-skateboard.html http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/electric-skateboard.html
- digi_owl 11y agoHmm, off-road boards...
- Swizec 11y agoIn SF it amortizes the cost of Ubering every day in about 3 months. I've run the numbers, it's pretty fascinating.
- swang 11y agoI have one of things. Bought off Alibaba for about ~$300 shipped. It is fun, but you have to be very careful about stepping on. It is one of those things where the more you panic the more something goes wrong as you overcompensate. I fell when I tried to step onto one on concrete and it was way faster than I was use to so I overcompensated for the pressure my foot was causing and landed hard around my tail bone. And by that point I was pretty experienced getting on (just not on concrete). Snowboarders seem to have a pretty easy time with it. But again, getting on without help is probably the most difficult step.
- TazeTSchnitzel 11y agoI'm not sure the ban on public use is a bad thing. I imagine they'd become a nuisance if a lot of people were using them. There's quite a difference between someone walking into you and someone crashing into you at 14mph on a 10kg set of wheels. Bicycles are used on bike lanes and on the road for a reason.
- fluxquanta 11y ago>I imagine they'd become a nuisance if a lot of people were using them. My image of them was already soured by just one guy in an airport a couple weeks ago doing a lazy slalom in front of me while I was trying to get around and to my flight.
- togusa 11y agoYep exactly. I saw one pile into the side of a bus stop going flat out. Smashed the glass. That's a nuisance.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- 6stringmerc 11y agoWell, as long as people are willing to risk life and limb in the pursuit of fun and thrills, I can't really talk down on them. Also I can't wait to get some more traction in my side project so I can get my "recreational personal flight device" into a prototype and testing stage. Think of it as akin to JetMan, version 2.0, and not needing a helicopter.
- markh1967 11y ago"All of them should be allowed on the pavement, because people aren't stupid, they will get out of the way if they see one coming." Speaking as someone who sometimes puts his back out and spends a few days hobbling slowly about, I shouldn't have to quickly get out of someone's way if I see them coming and they shouldn't be allowed on pavements.
- wyager 11y agoIt's not practical to design everything in the world with the very slowest people in mind. The efficiency losses would be huge. Imagine if every pedestrian crossing light went for five minutes. Vehicular traffic would grind to a standstill. That said, I see no reason why the people riding these things couldn't just move around other people. I rarely have problems with people on bicycles, because we can mutually avoid each other.
- omellet 11y agoBicycles aren't allowed on the sidewalk, either.
- atomicfiredoll 11y agoHow fast do these go compared to a bicycle? I saw a few of them on the street and they didn't seem to be moving faster than a brisk walker. My impression was that bikes are generally banned because they move fast enough to cause serious injury yet are silent enough that pedestrians don't hear them coming.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- dogma1138 11y agoI've seen a few of these in London they aren't really faster than a fast walking speed which makes people who use them look very silly. They are quite often laughably used in shopping centers or and super markets mostly because allot of the pavements in London are horribly uneven which probably doesn't provide a very good surface for those. I've seen 2 guys on those things at Westfield last weekend arguing with a bunch of confused staff that didn't knew how to treat them. I don't really get this device it doesn't help you to commute any faster, it doesn't increase your pedestrian commute range if you aren't fit to walk you won't be able to use one of those (they got quite a stringy weight limit, and require quite a bit of effort to balance yourself on) anyhow. It's a bit funny to see fit and young hipsters pretty much using a 500$ mobility scooter...
- ZoeZoeBee 11y agoWhy do people insist on calling these things hoverboards? It's 2015 Marty McFly would be extremely disappointed.
- thoman23 11y agoCompletely agree. I don't see any hovering going on. Of course, I'm still on the losing side of the battle against the "sharing economy" phrasing, so I might as well accept this one too.
- nailer 11y agoIn London they're called swegways. https://twitter.com/search?q=swegway https://twitter.com/search?q=swegway
- jessriedel 11y agoHow does these compare with the single-wheel versions? http://www.theairwheel.com/buy/airwheel-carbon-limited-edition/ http://www.theairwheel.com/buy/airwheel-carbon-limited-editi...
- JulianMorrison 11y agoI'm guessing, the larger single wheel gives you a smoother ride? They're easier to pick up and carry like a briefcase, too. But I imagine, harder to ride.
- Retric 11y agoThey also have a double wheel version that also uses large wheels which seems like a better idea. http://www.theairwheel.com/buy/q3black340wh/ http://www.theairwheel.com/buy/q3black340wh/
- phkahler 11y agoWas going to say it appears that the Segway patent has run out. But then: http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/15/9330361/segway-hoverboard-patent-hovertrax-lawsuit http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/15/9330361/segway-hoverboard-... I was working on iBot cost reduction stuff back in 1999 when that patent was filed. I was under the impression the company (our customer) had a lot of balancing machines running around at the time and figured the patent must have been a few years old at that point. Guess not.
- mortenjorck 11y agoWhat's fascinating to me is that now, 14 years after the Segway failed to take over the world and became indelibly associated with upper-middle-class nerds, similar technology is now 90% less expensive, has found a more socially-acceptable form factor, and is actually becoming associated with celebrity tastemakers. It would be quite the irony if the breathless hype about the Segway circa 2000 ended up being realized a decade and a half later, without the Segway.
- hugs 11y agoToo early (or poorly executed) happens often enough, that I don't think it's irony -- it's expected. See also: Windows for Pen Computing and the iPad.
- Plough_Jogger 11y agoA humorous and insightful PG post on Segway: http://www.paulgraham.com/segway.html http://www.paulgraham.com/segway.html
- TrevorJ 11y agoI've thought about that a lot, and I think new tech adoption relies more on the social framework that's in place around it than we think. Simply put: if it makes you look/seem like an asshole then it's not gonna happen unless it's too good to ignore. Smart watches and bluetooth headsets are great examples: they work fine but they make you look like a tool because of the social frameworks we have in place (it's rude to check your watch while in a conversation, it makes people feel weird when they think you are talking to them but you are just on your bluetooth.) Smartphones didn't deal with this friction because there's a long history of social rules around reading in public, and smartphones are essentially the same thing. We know when it's rude and when it's not, we know how to handle somebody reading next to us in the train, etc. In short, using a smartphone didn't make you look like a tool, it was just the next logical step from reading a magazine. I definitely think Segway fell victim to this.
- WorldWideWayne 11y agoIt's way more conspicuous than those sneakers with the wheels on the bottom and those sneakers really took off in some parts of the US. Did they cause a lot of problems for people? I don't know, but these hoverboards probably won't be as popular as those sneakers.
- copsarebastards 11y ago> American rapper Wiz Khalifa claimed on Twitter that he was handcuffed by customs and border patrol officers at LAX airport because he refused to disembark from his transporter. I don't know whether the officers were justified in ordering him to get off the transporter (I tend to side with civilians), but this is kind of dumb. What was he expecting to happen? I can understand getting arrested intentionally to make a political point, but is this really the political stance he wants to take? Either he was too dumb to know he was going to get arrested, or he's making a pretty irrelevant political point.
- DasIch 11y agoHe's a celebrity and this got his name in the news. Isn't that more than enough of a reason?
- copsarebastards 11y agoYou're right, I understand his motivation now, and I hate society a little more.
- DasIch 11y agoWell, it's not that different from writing blog posts in the hopes that they show up here. Humans are social and connections even asymetric ones are valueable.
- copsarebastards 11y agoMy objection is that Wiz Khalifa's bid for attention worked, despite the fact that he had nothing of value to say. I'd hope that if someone wrote something of no value it wouldn't make it onto the front page of HN.
- fsloth 11y agoIs there any open source for the control system? It's not rocket science but from what I understand getting a control system running with dynamic feedback is not trivial either? Anyone experience with the theory? Any books/papers you can suggest?
- jeffwass 11y agoTry starting by looking up "PID loops" (Proportional Integral Derivative).
- amelius 11y agoLet's not call them hoverboards until they actually hover.
- Paul_S 11y agoDon't want to sound like a killjoy but those seem absolutely pointless. If you made one so small it would fit in a sole of a shoe I'd reconsider but in their current form they're just as inconvenient when not in use as a bike and infinitely less useful when riding.