Hovershoes that slip under your shoes to propel you at 7mph
View(s):A new pair of hovershoes unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show could soon replace your scooter, bike and skateboard – just don’t try to take them for a spin in the rain.
Called the Motokick hover shoes, the $200 self-balancing skates slip underneath your shoes to propel users at speeds of up to 7mph and can even play music.
All users have to do to get moving is tilt backwards and forwards, then they’re ready to cruise.
They look a bit whacky and can feel awkward when worn for the first time, but it only takes a few tries before wearers will be ready to zoom about at full speed.
Rubber covers the top of the shoes so that users’ feet can grip onto the surface and not slide off.
Jetson, the company behind Motokicks, basically took the same technology used in its hoverboards, split the board in half and fit the tech into a pair of platform skates.
Inside the shoes are sensors, a rechargeable lithium ion battery, motors and a motherboard.
A number of sensors power what Jetson calls active balance technology so that it’s ‘balanced at all times.’
And so far so good. In a demo for DailyMail.com, a Jetson employee was able to scoot around the CES floor with ease.
‘It’s self-balancing and it feels very much like skates,’ Michael Ruskin, vice president of operations at Jetson, told DailyMail.com.
‘I feel more in control than on a hoverboard because once you get the hang of it, you realize…it’s just very simple movements.
But don’t expect to ride a pair of hovershoes to work anytime soon, as they aren’t great for riding on carpets or in the rain because they need traction to be stable. One of the coolest hidden features of the hovershoes is that they turn into a roving boombox.
With the push of a button, music will start playing through the shoes with strobe lights flashing along with the beat. So if you play some dubstep, the flashing lights will ‘bump with the music,’ Ruskin said.
What’s more, the hovershoes will soon be able to magically transform into a hoverboard and a go-kart.
And above all, they’re really fun to ride, Jetson said.
‘[The hovershoes] are a toy and they’re fun. That’s what these are,’ Ruskin said. ‘It’s a new way for children and adults to experience mobility. Plus, it provides a real sense of freedom.’
© Daily Mail