Story Of How A Leaf Blower Turned Into A Hovercraft: Japanese Inventor Hideyasu Ito's Model Goes Viral
Discover the amazing story of how Japanese inventor Hideyasu Ito turned a simple leaf blower into a one-of-a-kind hovercraft that went viral on social media.
When a demonstration video of Hideyasu Ito¡¯s hovercraft went viral on social media, Ito became the shining star of the tech world. Back in 2022, at an annual DIY exhibition called Maker Faire Tokyo, Ito showed off his incredible invention, which led the British YouTube creator Tom Scott to seek the genius out himself.
Inventor Hideyasu Ito Turns Leaf Blower Into A Hovercraft
Twitter
Scoot made his way to Tsubame City, Japan, to meet Ito and try out his invention.Ito has been running his own "micro hovercraft laboratory" for years now. Scoot has tried many hovercrafts in the past, but Ito¡¯s version was much different from his past experiences as it was a homemade product invented by one curious Japanese.
Micro Hovercraft Laboratory owner Hideyasu Ito demonstrates his latest micro hovercraft which has four air skirts at an annual DIY exhibition Maker Faire Tokyo 2022
¡ª Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) December 24, 2022
[read more, video (JP): https://t.co/Gtd2xGO8Tq] pic.twitter.com/pjRtnQ4UtX
The idea to invent a hovercraft planted seeds in Ito¡¯s head a decade ago. He found a place that was selling leaf blowers for really cheap prices. So, even if Ito had no use for it, he ended up taking one home. A few years later, he came across someone who had turned their leaf blower into a hovercraft, which made his brain sprout with an idea.
The Inventor Used Simple Products From Home Improvement Stores To Make His First Hovercraft
Youtube
Ito explained how, at first, it was just curiosity, but soon he wanted to come up with different versions of the hovercraft, like an electric-powered one or one for the kids. Ito started his journey to make the hovercraft with items from Home Centre, like lumber. He also used parts from bicycles or components from radio-controlled cars.
While the DIY project started with Ito coming up with everything, later parts of the hovercraft were sourced from 3D printers and even specific parts from China. Ito makes his invention with simple tools, so if someone out there wants to recreate it, they can easily do so.
The design of the hovercraft consists of four fans that fill up four plastic containers like balloons. These inflated containers propel the driver just a few centimetres above the ground, certainly enough to call it a hovercraft.
Check out the video below:
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