Dutch Engineer Develops Levitating Appliances [Video]

Dutch engineer Ger Jansen and his daughter Angela of the design firm Crealev, are leading the way in the creation of levitating appliances, CNN reported.

Using the technology of magnets, the father-and-daughter tandem created levitation kits that allow objects to float in mid-air.

Some of their previous projects include making a hat levitate above a fashion model's head for a photo shoot and displaying a huge floating rock in the middle of an art gallery.

Jansen explained that their designs are made possible by the two components of their magnetic kits. The firs component is a magnetic disk that can be attached to an object. The second part is a base with sensors to make sure that the floating object above it stays in place.

Through the polarity of the magnets, Jansen and his daughter are able to create support-less appliances, according to World News Source.

According to Jansen, the components of the magnetic kits vary in size, according to the demands of their clients.

"Our customers drive us by requesting more demanding solutions," he said. "For the higher and heavier loads we have to combine the largest levitation modules."

Aside from just making things float, Jansen said they are developing ways to make the sensors of their kits smarter. Doing so will enable him and his team to create levitating objects that can also move according to their surroundings.

"People don't want something to just float but also to interact with it," he explained. "What should happen then is that sensors around the object move depending on the movement of people, so the object is more intelligent."

In addition to complicated requests about floating appliances, some of Crealev's clients have asked the engineer if he could make people levitate.

Jansen said it could be done by simply modifying a person's clothes to carry small magnets but the technology, however, could have undesirable effects to the subject, KGNS reported.

"You could have magnets inserted into clothes but it would not feel like resting on the clouds," he warned. "If you have these magnets working together it's a giant force. It can hurt the skin. There need to be safety precautions."

Check out Crealev's levitating hoverboard display in the video below.