The future of the maglev toys
Recently, a group of students created a new toy idea – and it went viral. The video, highlighted by the Japan Institute of Science and Technology, featured a Controlled Quantum Levitation Wipe-Out Track. People all over the world watched the video – and hoped they would soon have access to the toy.
To-date, there are over 3 million views on the original YouTube video – highlighting the interest that such an invention would garner from the general public. Whether you’re a collector, a scientist, or simply a toy fanatic, a creation so unique would no doubt grab your attention. And the first one to be created? It would almost certainly sell out faster than even some of the most popular toys of our time.
Unfortunately, the video was an animation – and not a real racing game. Just a short while after the initial video took off, the team behind it shared another. In the Wipeout Quantum: Making Of video, it was explained that the team of five students in Montreal behind the first video was assigned the task of creating a hoax using computer generated imagery. They succeeded.
Hundreds of commenters responded in frustration to the news that the game featured in the first video wasn’t real. To many, it would be a dream come true.
But for those who study and pay attention to advances in quantum levitation, it feels less like a letdown and more like a delay. To most who follow the imaginative ways that levitation is being applied, it is only a matter of time before this type of game becomes a reality.
As magnetic levitation continues to be applied in other areas, followers wait for the chance to own a piece of history. Whether it will be in the next few months, the next year, or even longer is currently unknown. But what is certain is that it is coming. And when it does, it will likely create waves in the toy industry – and open up a whole new era of gameplay.
