The ArcaBoard: $20K, Six Hours of Charging, Six Minutes of Hovering

 
Fancy a $20,000 hoverboard? We're not talking about the little device with wheels that you precariously balance on (and hope it doesn't explode when you go to charge it). We mean a real-life, working device that hovers—no wheels need apply.

Arca Space debuted a working hoverboard this past week. Stand on it, and you're basically surfing the ground—or so Arca Space's video implies. Technologically speaking, there's nothing absurdly fancy about the hoverboard beyond a whole lot of oomph packed into its rectangular case. The ArcaBoard, as it's known, doesn't use magnets or anything like that to lift off into the air. It simply packs 36 electric fans into a rectangular board; the fans generate a lot of downward thrust (430 pounds, reports Gizmodo), and that pushes you up into the air about a foot or so.

"Ride across any terrain or water with the vehicle that was virtually impossible, until today. Do what you want, whenever you want, wherever you want. Each time you ride the ArcaBoard you will find yourself at the center of a new exhilarating experience," reads Arca Space's description.

So there you have it: A brute-force version of a hoverboard. And if you were thinking of just how cool you might look riding this one over to your favorite fast food place or supermarket, we hope you live close. The ArcaBoard gets about six minutes worth of airtime on its battery, though we presume you'd have a blast if you found some kind of a way to just plug it into the wall (with a really long extension cord). Still, six minutes isn't a whole lot of fun for the device's beefy asking price of $20,000.

You could, however, supplement your already large purchase with a special $4,500 charging dock from Arca Space, which will refill the ArcaBoard's battery in the short span of just 35 minutes. Otherwise, you're waiting six hours per charge. Yikes.

And don't forget about the weight concerns. You can't be heavier than 243 pounds or else your hovering experience isn't really going to work. After all, the heavier a person is (or the bigger the battery Arca Space attempts to put into the hoverboard), the less it will actually hover.

You can preorder the ArcaBoard right now if you're interested, and the contraption should ship out in mid-April. We suggest giving your neighbors a bit of an advance warning, given how loud 36 fans are likely to be (and how odd you will look hovering right on by their dining room windows).