As children we are inspired by the things we see in movies, on TV, and commercials. After seeing a friend with a toy car, we want a toy car. After watching ET, we desperately wanted a bicycle (and an alien friend that goes a long with it). After one of our all-time favorites, Back To The Future Part 11, we discovered the hoverboard, and despite how far from reality it may have been, we wanted it. By now, we're adults, and it has probably settled in that the hoverboards from the movies didn't really exist. But you gotta have hope, guys. It's 2014, and that means flying cars, robots, and talking smartphones are all part of life now. It also means a real, working hoverboard is on its way. The Hendo Hoverboard, currently on Kickstarter, is seeking funding to put this technology in the hands of developers by 2015.

Hendo, started by Jill and Greg Henderson of California, claim this is their 18th prototype of the hoverboard. It floats one inch above the ground, and can support the weight of a human (up to 300 pounds). Looking for a catch? Well there is one, a big one. Because Hendo works using electromagnetic field technology, it will only hover over a very specific kind of metal surface. According to Engadget, this includes non-ferrous metals such as aluminum or copper. It also has a pretty sucky battery life. Charge the thing for 2 hours and you only get about 12-15 minutes of hover time.

What kinds of things could we use hovercraft technology for? Greg Henderson has a long-term idea, with original inspiration coming from architecture. He says, “It came from the idea of hovering a building out of harm's way”. Being able to “raise a building off its foundation during an earthquake” sounds eternally far away, but Henderson hopes such an idea could be inspiration for this technology once it's in the hands of others. Not everyone may pick up on it, but “if one in 10 people realize there is another use for this stuff, that would be a great success” (New York Times).

The Kickstarter campaign is offering the Hendo “white box” for $299, a complete, working Hendo hover engine and developer kit so users can build their own projects. The real deal, however, costs a whopping $10,000. If you're like me and just want a five-minute ride on the thing, you have to pay $100 (That's expensive!). Surely this inventive technology will come in handy and be applied to many projects to come. Then again, who's to say we don't see all the kids hovering their way around the neighborhoods sooner? Surely all their parents would have ten grand lying around.