The jetpack started life as a leaf blower, two water bottles and a very optimistic sketch. Today it gets its first real test, and the crew already has a name for it: Pylon Pilot. A small airfield outside town has lent its runway for the afternoon, and the crew has built a course of striped masts, scaffolding towers and spare girders, each pair leaving a gap just wide enough to fly through.
Pixel Mark Rober clips on the harness, gives a thumbs-up to the control tower and lifts off. The jetpack only knows two moves: a burst of thrust and a long, slow sink. Spare batteries are taped along the course to keep it humming, and every pylon he clears adds a line to the test report. The further he flies, the faster the course comes at him. Just how far can a garage prototype go?










