Self-balancing scooter

[2] Shane Chen, a Chinese businessman and founder of Inventist filed a patent for a device of this type in February 2013[3] and launched a Kickstarter fund-raising campaign in May 2013.

[4] The devices' increasing popularity in USA has been attributed, initially, to endorsement by the wide array of celebrities (including Justin Bieber, Jamie Foxx, Kendall Jenner, Chris Brown, Soulja Boy and Wiz Khalifa).

[5][6][7][8] The founders of the American company PhunkeeTree encountered the board at the Hong Kong Electronics Show in 2014 and became involved in its distribution shortly thereafter.

[9] In January 2015 through Inventist, he announced his intention to pursue litigation[10] In April 2015, Ninebot, a significant manufacturer of devices acquired Segway Inc. (which separately asserted that it holds patents for self-balancing scooters.

[23] In September 2015 the Oxford English Dictionary stated in their view the term had not been in use in the context for long enough for inclusion and that for the time being they would restrict their description to boards "that Marty McFly would recognize".

[36][37] In January 2016, the Philippine Department of Health and Trade and Industry issued a joint advisory cautioning the public against buying them, due to reports of injuries and "potential electrocution connected with its usage".

The advisory also stated “as a precautionary measure, the DOH and DTI-Consumer Protection Group therefore advise parents against buying hoverboards for children under 14 years of age.”[38] In May 2016, the miniPRO produced by Segway Inc. received UL certification, as did a company in Shenzhen, China.

[41] In March 2023, a self-balancing board was recalled for causing an April 2022 fire in Hellertown, Pennsylvania that killed two sisters.