Sitting just below the flying car and the jet pack in a list of "sci-fi devices that need to become real right NOW" is the hoverboard. Several attempts have been made to turn fiction into reality over the years and now yet another player is jumping into the game. Meet the Slide, by Lexus.

As made famous in Back to the Future II, the hoverboard is essentially a skateboard without wheels, it floats over the ground rather than rolling. While other attempts at making the hoverboard a reality have been made, with even some degree of success, they really miss out on the skateboard like industrial design. As the promo video below shows, the Slide looks like it could have come right out of the movies.

The Slide uses superconductors to create an electrical current that can repel magnets. This of course means you have to have magnets for the hoverboard to repel. The prototype is only able to run if there are magnets beneath it to push against, this would require a fairly extensive infrastructure push in order for the Slide to be usable as a means of transportation. Magnetized skate parks would be amazing though, and much easier to create. The coolest part (pun intended) though is the cryostat. In order for the superconductors to be kept cold enough to run, the board actually cools liquid nitrogen internally.

The other thing that is conspicuous by its absence in the promo video is anybody actually riding the thing, so we know nothing about its stability. Still, baby steps right? In development for over 18 months, the Slide is not available for sale, but will be tested in Barcelona over the coming weeks.