Getting from A to B is very rarely boring in the world of science fiction – sadly real life is often a let-down in comparison. We do not have many floating, hovering, flying vehicles, despite a great deal of engineering effort from entrepreneurs to develop jetpacks, flying cars, and radical hovercraft.

But if the hoverbike currently being developed by Los Angeles-based Aerofex, gets off the ground, this could change. It is uncannily reminiscent of a Speeder Bike from the original Star Wars trilogy.

The device is named the Aero-X and it takes up about as much room as a small car. Eventually there will be space for just two passengers though, and early prototypes show only one brave test-rider, who perches on top of two horizontal spinning blades encased in circular housings.

The company calls it a crossover vehicle. It is technically a hovercraft, but it apparently feels like riding a motorbike. It is designed for low-altitude flying, and can zoom over ground that even an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) would struggle with. Aerofex says it will be capable of 72km/h (45mph).

But at a cost of $85,000, who is a crossover hoverbike aimed at, beyond the odd rich eccentric with a head for heights? Although it’s a niche product, the company’s CTO and founder Mark DeRoche told me it could be a lucrative niche. “There’s really nothing between a ground vehicle and an aircraft,” he says, apart from much more expensive helicopters and small planes. Aerofex thinks its vehicle could be useful for farmers, both for agriculture (crops) and herding animals. It could also be used by emergency services, for disaster relief or search and rescue, as well as for border patrols.