In 15 years from now technology will have advanced rapidly, it will advance so fast it is hard to actually know what is considered far fetched or not…
The first iphone was released about 7 years ago… 8 years before that we had this extremely popular brick from nokia… could you have imagined a phone with the features of the iphone in 2000?
Gen 3 will be boards that are completely indistinguishable from a normal skateboard - but there will also be ones that no longer look like skateboards at all… more like human transportation devices… They will have features such as;
Future eBoards will have components built into the deck itself. Preferably with a top hatch setup.
Unfortunately, if you want performance + power those things do require a certain amount of space and with current technology they can only get so light and so small.
If you want dual motors and/or double range and more power. Your adding more car to it which increases weight and bulkiness to a certain extend.
Caution: in the below message I criticize everything Onloop wrote and present my own unrealistic arguments. Feel free to trash me. 
Whoa. Merely that? 
Unless a player like Google suddenly takes an interest in ULEVs and sponsors all DIYers, upgrades like collision avoidance and autonav won’t ever find their way onto an esk8t, simply because of the cost of the extra equipment (e.g. environmental sensors, high powered processor). Why Goog? Because they have deep pockets, and that’s how you started this thread: The bottom line is unfortunately also a ceiling. Judging from the number of baby photos in your Hollow Carbon deck thread, the household “hobby gadget budget” is in competition with other 2 foot high diapered cost centers.
The laws of physics will cause problems as well: Regen braking is of course limited to the motored wheel…with such a small contact patch, stopping on a dime is impossible. Even if the board had some sort of self-driving capacity, you represent 95% of the vehicle’s mass - it would have be aware of exactly where your center-of-gravity is before executing any radical manoeuvre so as not to ditch you.
I love the advanced controller ideas and wireless charging, but I still see the ones you proposed a few generations in the future. About anti-theft and homing functions, don’t those ideally require a smartphone app, which you just trash talked above?
Here’s my list:
Extra energy and range:
Harvesting muscle energy from carving
Solar clothes, solar hats to match the grip tape
Conversation of wifi and bluetooth waves into electricity
Other charging systems:
Wireless is too slow (yeah yeah, I know what I wrote above about wifi), so NO separate chargers - ever seen the cord on a vacuum cleaner? Well, that.
Easily rechargeable methane fuel cells (for neighborhoods with lots of Mexican restaurants)
Better safety:
Refined use of back EMF or Hall sensors for anti-lock braking (isn’t Evolve doing this?) and speed syncing of multiple motors
Brakes on all 4 wheels (what, 4 motors is too heavy? Just use one and add disc brakes to the other 3 wheels!!!)
Reversible magnetic foot pads (collision avoidance system will either fatally clamp both feet to the board, or repulse, sending your body high in the air, and safely over the obstacle. Landing is your problem.)
Air bags (everywhere, in your clothes, on the board, etc., when deployed you become one of those human hamster balls)
Air horn (that plays “Dixie”)
Advanced controller:
Combined weight sensing (multiple points, not just front/back) and rider mass awareness using simple weight sensors and a LeapMotion-like device. (Go into a forward tuck, the board accelerates; angle back and arms out, emergency braking; rider thrown, board reverses direction, rolls up to you and licks your hand.) This innovation would enable Onloop’s autonav/autobrake vision.
Next gen drives:
More gears, with automatic or manual transmission
Spherical hub motors (free floating urethane-covered sphere whose inner surface is lined with permanent magnets; the truck-mounted ball socket contains the electromagnetically activated superconductors that not only permit the wheelsphere to float, but to roll in any direction. Pirouettes at 180 rpm become possible. Replacement wheels require a bank loan.)
More hydraulics. KITT and Speed Racer can jump, why can’t these boards?
Societal transformation:
Ever read articles of the underground LA cycling scene, or seen Akira? I predict gangs will eventually adopt these boards, and anti-theft Mad Max security upgrades like electric discharge and switchblades will become commonplace. Petty things like “board weight” and “clean lines” will no longer be a priority.
Ok ok, I’ve gone overboard. I do see the retractable power cord, the LeapMotion for body stance controlling and generalized ABS as doable though.
One more thing, though, you both say that actual Gen 3 boards will be “indistinguishable from a normal skateboard”…“with components built into the deck itself”…but that respecting a certain weight limit will limit performance. Isn’t that what the Kickstarters have done?
this is a topic that deserves its own thread! so I moved everything here
i don’t think your ideas are unrealistic…it might seem like they are, but as innovators we need to be unrealistic…
This is one of my favorite quotes
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” - Arthur C. Clarke
I bet you $1000000 they do! In fact i think it would be possible to implement collision detection within the next year using ultrasonic proximity sensors
What a quandary: I am forced to take the bet, because if I really believe that those upgrades will be a long time coming, that $1,000,000 will be worth $10.78 by then, so no risk.
But, you’re cheating! Collision detection is “easy” (by nerds, not me) - I believe we were talking about “avoidance” though. Meaning after you register it, you got to do something about about it. A car can mistreat you a bit: you are after all wearing a seatbelt (or should be). However, although I slow down on busy sidewalks and plazas, my near misses usually involve me already being close proximity to others, and then somebody sees you, and sidesteps…the wrong way.
Even if your esk8 has an onboard sentient AI with complete control over 4WD speed, braking AND steering, veering out of the way at the last second is only going to string out my poor hapless body in the space it just vacated…ouch.
while all of these things are theoretically possible. would you want it?
I think that the only technology I want on my skateboard is low profile, long life battery technology. and maybe some sort of fast charging.
Not if you are wearing active clothing that integrates muscle contractions with angle changes that the board needs to perform.
The board might also have dynamic tension systems controlling the range of movement in the trucks. So at high speed it is stable with anti wobble, but depending on speed can become loose and agile.
So the system will detect an an object and simultaneously start altering it’s course and activating the leg and hip muscles to ensure body weight is perfectly positioned for rapid direction changes & deceleration, whilst losening the trucks to allow sharp cornering.
It might also independently control wheel rpm to help steering by slowing or locking the left or right wheels.
Once the system is advanced enough there is no reason you can’t travel at the same speed as other large vehicles on the road with very minimal chance of being dismounted… however as you mentioned you definitely want a full body airbag suit…
@lowGuido Well, what you have here are two obvious SF fans already living half the dream (wow an e-skate?! It’s an almost hoverboard!!!) so why not imagine the other half. It’ll all be reality one day, and the next, it becomes something you can’t live without.
Also, I have it on good evidence, that an early Neanderthal was quoted as saying “What me no need wheel. Me have club and footses to hunt womens and food. What next flat tree and many wheels? har har har”.
LOL. you crack me up. hoverboard… now we are talking.
Mind control phone apps already being developed!
The biggest hurdle to electric longboard performance and aesthetic is battery tech in my opinion. Its also the biggest hurdle when trying to build a sleek and sexy rig with a particular aesthetic.
In the future energy densities will be such that prismatic cells can be inlaid in the deck itself with densities well over 12s4p and not be noticeable at all. Even cylindrical cells will likely be usable in this fashion as something the size of a AA will have tons more power than it would now.
VESC has already created a situation where the ESC can be epoxied into the deck while only exposing the thinnest of heat sinks if any at all. Hub motors will have evolved to maximize torque as well as speed despite their awkward position of having a mechanical disadvantage to belt drives.
Read “Snow Crash” by Neil Stephenson.
It’s Sci Fi but he great record predicting many new trends.
He features ‘Smart Wheels’ in his novel that uses adaptive probes conform to road debris and obstacles.
By 2030 I would love to see eks8 with well-documented international standards. Right now there are few compatibilities across manufacturers, because there is not much guidance about how to make items within globally agreed-on specs. It’s simple right now, for example, to find PC components that work together, because the industry is mature. Hopefully by 2030 there might be some ISO guidelines for esk8.
In 2030 I hope we have:
*Standard sizes and spacings for belts, pulleys, and wheels, motors, and connectors *Pre-made kits that limit the amount of grinding, cutting, soldering, drilling, etc needed to complete a build *Affordable batteries that are simple to charge (and as @longhairedboy notes, have higher capacity) *Overall reduction in cost of all components *More major manufacturers producing parts options
We are lucky to have Enertion, DIYESkateboards, Alien, and others that are spearheading the industry and making it possible (and relatively easy) to build now!
actually Id like to see some tech that fits a motor in a 52mm wheel.
Got a nice list here too.
http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2013_06_04_five_reasons_car_enthusiasts_should_be_begging_to_go_electric
super entertaining thread.
While i can appreciate the auto-avoidance and “smart” clothes - i just don’t see that happening. Not on a skateboard w/ 4 wheels and a weight based steering. I’d be more inclined to see some of that auto avoidance on the new 2 wheel segway like devices - slower speed (currently) and already like a tracked vehicle where slowing one wheel will turn you to avoid. changing the angle of the deck with out securing the driver considering balance and higher speed of e-boards seems like a bad idea.
And adoption of smart clothes that do muscle control - you can count me out. I’ll take some absorption/airbag gear for impact, but nothing that restricts my movements. Call me paranoid, but anything electronic (which you can hack) that immobilizes me - no thank you.
I see super high density batteries that are ultra light weight to give extended range as the most likely development for 2030. Built into decks or so low profile to be minimally visible. Newer chemistries that are more stable and safer (lipo fears limit sales). I figure we will continue to ride the coat tails of the major technologies that need high density power storage (laptop/tablet/phone) as well as the smaller RC development/improvements.
Wish for a hoverboard, but still think 2030 might be a bit premature. Lexus or not (still annoyed they made a park with concrete to hide the magnets), it’s a long ways off i bet.
Motors should continue to get smaller and be more powerful. Perhaps more integrated motors like Stary w/ drive reduction for torque? Perhpas a miniaturization of the CVT transmission like in cars now?
More integration into phones/wearables(watches) w/ configuration and app management for your power adjustment (hand to newbie friend - starter “mode”), and battery/voltage/range notifications.
I just hope in another 15 years i’ll be healthy and still riding regularly. You’ll see me on one if it’s as awesome as i hope, or i’ll be riding my 15 year old “dinosaur” DIY boards!
Am I the only one who thinks it will all come crashing down and we’ll all be riding horses again? LOL
