Skateboarding originally started in California to give riders a way to “surf the streets.” While skateboard technology has improved since the first skate competition in Hermosa Beach, Calif. in 1963, the basic concept has stayed the same. Now, with electric boards hitting the market, skateboards are undergoing major advancements for the first time since the invention of urethane wheels. StarkBoard, from StarkMobility, is the latest product pushing the edge of skateboard tech.
The StarkBoard is an electric skateboard that doesn’t require a remote. Intelligent weight and motion sensors measure body weight distribution and does a lot of the balancing for the rider. The motors are informed which direction the board needs to go.
Laurens Laudowicz, the Chief Technology Officer at StarkMobility, says it is designed with all levels of skaters in mind as it’s designed to be mastered in five minutes — even for novices.
“The board understands where you are standing and what movements you will be making,” Laudowicz said. “If you are thinking about how you move, you are taking it one step too far. It is designed to be intuitive.”
How it moves is simple. Lean forward and the board speeds up, lean back and it slows down. It tops out at around 20 miles per hour, and the board stops automatically when the rider gets off. An intelligent smart braking system offers quick stops, and when a rider steps off, the brakes are activated so that the board doesn’t roll downhill.
“All other electric skateboards are based on a remote control which takes a while to learn,” Laudowicz said. “When you first step on a remote-controlled board it is wobbly, the StarkBoard is locked in place.”
StarkBoard – Live on Indiegogo from Stark Mobility Inc on Vimeo.
The board gets back to the birth of skateboarding. Riding it feels more like surfing or snowboarding according to Laudowicz.
“The way you stand on it feels natural, with an electric skateboard you may have to kick to create momentum,” Laudowicz said. “With the StarkBoard you just get on and go.”
The idea for the product came from a “half-joking, half-serious” conversation between friends. Why not create a board that everyone would want? The first iteration was a mix of parts from electric skateboards, hoverboards, and Segway controls.
“We frankensteined the first board together into an ugly looking thing… but it worked,” Laudowicz said. “Once we had a working prototype, we had to bring the size down. The goal was to make it useful and make it cool.”
The board is currently available for preorder on Indiegogo until Saturday. The company has already raised six times the original $20,000 goal. One of the main issues with online fundraising sites is promising a lot and not being able to deliver. StarkMobility wants to do right by its investors.
“Many companies say they will ship products a year after the fundraising,” Laudowicz said. “We will be shipping our first units this month and the rest in February. We don’t want to over-promise and under-deliver.”