Project Ara is the codename of Google’s initiative to develop a free, open-source hardware platform for a modular smartphone . The platform consists of a frame, including modules such as a display, keyboard or additional battery. This will allow users to change faulty modules or update obsolete modules, thereby ensuring a longer smartphone life cycle and potentially reducing the amount of electronic waste . [1] [2]
The project was initially led by the Advanced Technologies And Projects team at Motorola Mobility , a subsidiary of Google. And although Google sold Motorola to Lenovo , he retained a team working in this direction. [3]
Content
- 1 Motivation
- 2 History
- 2.1 Evolution
- 2.2 Development progress
- 3 Technical Details
- 4 notes
- 5 Links
Motivation
Project Ara phones are built using modules inserted in a metal frame. The frame will be the only component in a Project Ara phone made by Google. [4] It acts as the basis for linking all modules together. First, it is planned to create three sizes: “mini” - the size of the iPhone 5 (5s), “medium” - the size of a smartphone with a screen diagonal of 4.7 inches and “phablet” - 1/3 more than the “average”. The base has two slots on the front side: large for the screen and small horizontal. On the back there are many square and rectangular slots of different sizes. Each base is expected to cost about $ 15. [5]
Modules can be with the functions inherent in ordinary smartphones (camera, speaker), but can also be specialized: various medical devices, printers, picoprojectors, night vision cameras, etc. Any module can be inserted into any slot of a suitable size. The modules support hot swapping without turning off the phone (the module frame contains a backup battery, so you can even replace the main battery without turning off the smartphone). The modules on the frame are fixed with electro-permanent (electro-permanent, EPM) magnets, which require a small amount of energy only for magnetization / demagnetization. The shell of the module can be printed on a 3D printer to create an individual look of the smartphone. [4] The modules will be available both in the official Google store and in third-party stores. By default, Ara phones will only accept official modules, but users can change the settings for installing unofficial modules. [5]
History
Evolution
Even before the acquisition of Motorola Mobility in 2011, Google acquired several patents related to modular phones from Modu. [6] Initial studies of this concept began in 2012 and the main work began on April 1, 2013. [4] Dutch designer Dave Hakkens announced the modular concept of Phonebloks in September 2013. Motorola publicly announced Project Ara on October 29, 2013 and said they would work together with Phonebloks. [7] Motorola embarked on a 5-month tour across the United States in 2013 under the name “MAKEwithMOTO” to gauge consumer interest in private phones. [4] Interested developers, testers and users can register on a special site and become Ara Scouts. [7]
Development Progress
Google planned to hold developer conferences in 2014, the first of which was to be held on April 15-16, and Google was going to announce a kit for developers at it. A commercial release was planned for the 2nd quarter of 2015 [4] , but was postponed to 2016 [8] .
In May 2016, Google promised to release a kit for developers in the fall of 2016, but on September 2, 2016, information appeared that Google had suspended the development of the project. [9]
Technical Details
The first version of the development kit is expected to use the MIPI UniPro interface for FPGA communication implemented on the basis of FPGAs and working on the basis of LVDS . The physical layer connecting the modules will be sliding contacts. [four]
Future versions are expected to be built around a much more efficient and high-performance ASIC implementation of UniPro operating on the basis of a more powerful M-PHY physical layer protocol. [10]
Notes
- ↑ Byford, Sam Motorola reveals ambitious plan to build modular smartphones . The verge . Vox Media (October 29, 2013). Date of treatment October 29, 2013.
- ↑ Musil, Steven Motorola unveils Project Ara for custom smartphones . CNET . CBS Interactive (October 29, 2013). Date of treatment October 29, 2013.
- ↑ Google to keep Motorola's Advanced Technology group, including Project Ara modular phone . The verge . Date of treatment January 30, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 McCracken, Harry . Project Ara: Inside Google's Bold Gambit to Make Smartphones Modular (February 26, 2014). Archived March 4, 2014. Date of treatment March 4, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 Summerson, Cameron Fascinating: Project Ara Team Member Gives Us The First Glimpse Of How The Product Will Work In Model Demo At LAUNCH . Android Police . Date of treatment March 4, 2014.
- ↑ Reisinger, Don Report: Google acquires Modu's mobile patents . CNET (May 20, 2011). Date of treatment May 20, 2011.
- ↑ 1 2 Eremenko, Paul Goodbye Sticky, Hello Ara . Motorola Mobility . Motorola Mobility (October 29, 2013). Date of treatment October 29, 2013.
- ↑ Google has postponed the release of the Ara modular smartphone for a year: Gadgets: Science and Technology: Lenta.ru
- ↑ Google has suspended the project “smartphone-designer” Project Ara
- ↑ Ara Developers' Conference (inaccessible link) . Project Ara website . Date of treatment March 4, 2014. Archived on August 10, 2015.