When I was a child, I was convinced that the levitation is something magic, but now because I’m a man, I put away childish things and I think in equations, techniques and processes.

The dream of “tasting flight” is now tested in the robotics culture where the levitation is not a magic process; it is a technique to suspend an object without solid physical contact.

A simple DIY levitation project was presented at Brighton Maker Faire exhibition, and it catches a lot of attention to young engineers and robotics enthusiasts. The engineers involved in this project were tested several technologies for levitation such as aerodynamic or ultrasonic, but they always turned back to magnetics.

The flying robot included powerful magnets, lithium polymer batteries, brushless outrunner motors, controller and a sheet of auminium. The idea is to build a ring of magnets arranged north south and spin them. The magnets used in this project are 20mm N35 neodymium magnets. All the eight magnets are arranged to form a rotor while the rotor is printed with a 3D printer.

At a first try, the system achieves a lift at 1cm (0.4-inch) for a weight of 2Kg. If the weight of the Hoverbot is decreased to one kilogram, the levitation machine can reach a separation of 2.5 centimeters (1-inch).

The levitation system can be used in a variety of project due to the lack of friction, potentially faster, and smoother than wheels or tracks.