Hoverboards and drones: Technology bringing a dream to life

Since the release of Back to the Future in 1985, we've all been sitting on the edge of our seats waiting for the technology predicted in the film to become a reality.

As 2015 came to a close I found myself disappointed, I had yet to leave the ground and surf the skies on my sparkling pink hoverboard.

Two years went by and I conceded that this dream of surfing the air like some sort of super-hero would have to remain within in the boundaries of my imagination.

Yet, 2017 delighted me.

As I scrolled through Facebook one morning I spotted a clip of a man soaring through the sky, using to my disbelief a drone hoverboard.

Of course I immediately did everything within my power to find out the legitimacy of the clip.

To my surprise the drone hoverboard is real and it's called the Omni hoverboard.

The Omni hoverboard has been in development since 2015, when it first broke the world record for the longest manned hoverboard flight.

The prototype travelled 276 m in this record-breaking test flight.

After its initial reveal the Omni hoverboard fell off the the radar, until a few weeks ago when it reappeared in spectacular fashion.

At the Portuguese Cup Final the Omni hoverboard was used to hand over the game ball.

It flew a total of 60 m across the field, asstounding the crowd and reigniting interest surrounding this hoverboard.

The Omni board is unique among hoverboard designs as it is essentially a manned drone.

The user stands on top of a large oval shaped drone and controls the device through a remote held in one hand.    

The Omni Hoverboard is created by Catalin Alexandru Duru, an inventor based in Montreal.

Consumer versions for the device are planned with the first prototypes already in development.

There is no ETA on a public release for the device however.

Furthermore, as excited as I am for the device, I have to wonder what the regulations surrounding it would be and if it would even be allowed within New Zealand.

This concern is only elevated by the fact that the government is currently being pressured to tighten regulations surrounding drone usage within the country.

Despite the uncertainty the reappearance of this device does make me excited, as my dreams of soaring through the sky may still have a chance to become a reality.