After the Lexus Hoverboard was unveiled, trials were carried out on a specially constructed hoverpark near Barcelona. Up to 200 metres of magnetic track was laid beneath the hoverpark surface in order to create the dynamic test. This offered Lexus the opportunity to demonstrate tricks no ordinary skateboard could ever perform, like travelling across water. The Lexus Hoverboard technology features two ‘cryostats’— reservoirs in which superconducting material is kept at -197 °C through immersion in liquid nitrogen.
The board is then placed above a track that contains permanent magnets. The magnetic field from the track is effectively ‘frozen’ into the superconductors in the board, maintaining the distance between the board and the track, and keeping the board hovering.