Courtesy of Benzinga.
An advertisement from a company called HUVr claiming to have the first real-world hoverboards hit the internet last week. Since the ad featured Christopher Lloyd, Tony Hawk and the iconic DeLorean from the Back to the Future series, many assumed it was real, and then promptly lost their minds because everyone’s childhood dream had finally come to life.
Unfortunately, comedy website Funny or Die admitted that the advertisement was fake, and there is no hoverboard. With 2015 on the horizon, here are some other technologies from Back to the Future: Part II that we don’t have yet, and who we think should make them.
At-Home Video Conferencing: AT&T
AT&T (NYSE: T) already has video conferencing the way we picture it from the movie, but it’s only marketed toward businesses. The AT&T Telepresence Solution lets you connect with others via full-high-definition video (1080p) and spatial audio. The telecommunications company claims that the video-conferencing tool is as “simple to launch as a conference call and as effective as a face-to-face meeting.”
But it may be a while before it’s affordable enough for our living rooms.
Related: What Else Could Apple Do With Its Fingerprint Scanner?
Hoverboards: Mattel
Perhaps the most famous scene in the second Back to the Future film is when Marty McFly is engaged in a hoverboard chase. The technology isn’t quite here yet, but that’s why the innovation would be the perfect boost for a company selling older toys. Mattel (NASDAQ: MAT), whose product line still includes Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels (both of which are more than half a century old), needs this revitalization.
The toy maker already has a replica of the board seen in the film — add a little technological innovation, and it can have the toy that kids (and adults) have been wanting for the past 20 years.
Flying Cars: Volkswagen
Volkswagen (OTC: VLKAF) unveiled its hover car at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show. The concept car was part of the German automaker’s “People’s Car Project,” a crowdsourcing initiative in China that drew 33 million website visitors who submitted 119,000 ideas.
VW’s hovercraft would use electromagnetic levitation to move along its own grid. The zero-emission vehicle seats two people and has sensors that keep it from hitting over vehicles. There aren’t any plans for production of a hover vehicle yet, but VW’s got the right idea.
Power Laces: Nike
We already know where this one is coming from. According to Sole Collector, Nike (NYSE: NKE) designer Tinker Hatfield confirmed while speaking at the Jordan Brand’s Flight Lab in New Orleans that the company will release power-laced shoes in 2015. There’s no word whether the laces will be on the Nike Air MAG, a replica of the famous shoes worn by Marty McFly in the film.
Nike released the MAG in 2011 and auctioned off 1500 pairs on eBay. All of the proceeds went to the Micheal J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
The Double Tie: Joseph A. Bank Clothiers
The double tie could be a hard sell, even in the future. To ensure that it doesn’t look somewhat ridiculous, it must be made and marketed by a company that everyone takes seriously. That’s why it would need to come from JoS. A. Bank (NASDAQ: JOSB), the self-proclaimed “expert in men’s apparel.”
The upscale retailer has more than 100 years of experience with men’s clothing. Its website offers more than 600 different ties, along with advice on choosing the right one for every suit.
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