Project Ara is the codename for an initiative that aims to develop an open hardware[4] platform for creating highly modular smartphones. The platform will include a structural frame or endoskeleton that holds smartphone modules of the owner's choice, such as a display, camera or an extra battery. It would allow users to swap out malfunctioning modules or upgrade individual modules as innovations emerge, providing longer lifetime cycles for the handset, and potentially reducing electronic waste. Project Ara smartphone is scheduled to begin pilot testing in the United States in 2016 with a target bill of materialscost of $50 for a basic grey phone.
The project was originally headed by the Advanced Technology and Projects team within Motorola Mobility while it was a subsidiary of Google. Although Google has since divested Motorola to Lenovo, it retained the Advanced Technology and Projects group—which has since worked under the direction of the Android division. The project has since been separated from ATAP and became its own division in Google.
Project goals[edit]
Google says the device is designed to be utilized by "6 billion people"; including 1 billion current smartphone users, 5 billionfeature phone users, and 1 billion future users not currently connected.[10][11] Google intends to sell a starter kit where the bill of materials is US$50 and includes a frame, display, battery, low-end CPU and WiFi.[3]
Google wants Project Ara[12] to lower the entry barrier for phone hardware manufacturers so there could be "hundreds of thousands of developers" instead of the current handful of big manufacturers.[13] This would be similar to how the Google Play Store is structured. Lowering the barrier for entry allows many more people to develop modules. Anyone will be able to build a module without requiring a license or paying a fee.[10]
Structure and features[edit]
| Frame | Size | Rear module slots |
|---|---|---|
| Mini | 118 × 45 × 9.7 mm (4.65 × 1.77 × 0.38 in) | 2 × 5 |
| Medium | 141 × 68 × 9.7 mm (5.55 × 2.68 × 0.38 in) | 3 × 6 |
| Large | 164 × 91 × 9.7 mm (6.46 × 3.58 × 0.38 in) | 4 × 7 |
Ara Smartphones are built using modules inserted into metal endoskeletal frames known as "endos". The frame will be the only component in an Ara Smartphone made by Google.[13] It acts as the switch to the on-device network linking all the modules together. Two frame sizes will be available at first: "mini", a frame about the size of a Nokia 3310 and "medium", about the size of a LG Nexus 5.[14] In the future, a "large" frame about the size of a Samsung Galaxy Note 3will be available.[14] Frames have slots on the front for the display and other modules. On the back are additional slots for modules. Each frame is expected to cost around US$15.[15] The data from the modules can be transferred at up to 10gigabits/sec per connection. The 2×2 modules have two connections and will allow up to 20gigabits/sec. This is to defer its obsolescence as long as possible.
Modules can provide common smartphone features, such as cameras and speakers, but can also provide more specialized features, such as medical devices, receipt printers, laser pointers, pico projectors, night vision sensors, or game controller buttons. Each slot on the frame will accept any module of the correct size. The front slots are of various heights and take up the whole width of the frame.[14] The rear slots come in standard sizes of 1×1, 1×2 and 2×2.[14] Modules can be hot-swapped without turning the phone off.[13] The frame also includes a small backup battery so the main battery can be hot-swapped.[13] Modules were originally to be secured with electropermanent magnets, but according to the team a new, better solution has been developed. The enclosures of the modules were planned to be 3D-printed, but due to the lack of development in the technology Google opted instead for a customizable molded case.[3][13]
Modules will be available both at an official Google store and at third-party stores. Ara Smartphones will only accept official modules by default, but users can change a software setting to enable unofficial modules. This is similar to how Android handles app installations.[15]
Project team[edit]
Project Ara was developed and was led by Paul Eremenko.[13][16] The project falls under Regina Dugan, who runs Google's Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) organization. Both Eremenko and Dugan worked previously at DARPA, where Eremenko originated the fractionated spacecraft concept and ran the Adaptive Vehicle Makeprogram before heading the Tactical Technology office. The core Project Ara team at Google consists of three people with most of the work being done by outside contractors. One of the main contractors is NK Labs, a Massachusetts-based engineering firm, whose co-founder is Ara Knaian after whom the project was named.[13]
Google ATAP requires their employees to sign a 2-year contract. Limiting their time at Google allows employees to take risks and move at a faster pace than other employees. Paul Eremenko's contract expired after the 2nd Developers Conference in 2015, along with many other Google ATAP employees. Rafa Camargo, lead of the original Motorola Droid, has now taken over as project manager for Project ARA. The Alphabet acquisition of Google lead many wondering whether the Project ARA team would survive the transition. However, the official Project ARA Twitter account stated after the acquisition that they are working on updating the form factor (hardware layout).
History[edit]
Development[edit]
Prior to its acquisition of Motorola Mobility in 2011, Google had previously acquired some patents related to modular mobile phones from Modu.[17] Initial exploration of this concept began in 2012 and work started on April 1, 2013.[13] Dutch designer Dave Hakkens announced the Phonebloks modular phone concept independently in September 2013. Motorola publicly announced Project Ara on October 29, 2013 and said they will be working collaboratively with Phonebloks.[18] Motorola went on a 5-month road trip throughout the United States in 2013 called "MAKEwithMOTO" to gauge consumer interest in customized phones.[13] Interested developers, testers, or users can sign up to be Ara Scouts.[18]
The first version of the developers' kit relies on a prototype implementation of the Ara on-device network using the MIPI UniPro protocol implemented on FPGA and running over an LVDS physical layer with modules connecting via retractable pins.[13] Subsequent versions will soon be built around a much more efficient and higher performance ASIC implementation of UniPro, running over a capacitive M-PHY physical layer.[19]
A near-working prototype of an Ara smartphone was presented at Google I/O 2014; however, the device froze on the boot screen and failed to boot completely.[20][21] Globantalso announced that they will make a Google Play like dedicated hardware store for Project Ara.[22]
Events[edit]
Google has organized a series of Project Ara Developer Conferences, including plans for future events. More than 3300 developers signed up to the first conference that took place on April 15–16, 2014. Located in the Museum of Computer Science, where Google released the Module Developers' Kit and the first 17 dscout Alpha testers were revealed.[23] The second Project Ara Developers Conference was first hosted within Google's headquarters in Mountain View on January 16, 2015. Then repeated within Google's office in Singapore on January 21, 2015. Spiral 2 was revealed this Dev Con, showing major improvements in module latency and the endoskeletons bus speeds.
Puerto Rico Market Pilot[edit]
Google stated at their 2nd Developers Conference [24] on January 14, 2015 that Google will test the marketability of an updated version of Spiral 3, a new generation of Project Ara hardware architecture, in Puerto Rico. The modules will be sold out of a food-truck-like vehicle, with project lead Eremenko stating “We want to create a flexible retail experience. We’re designing a food truck as a retail vehicle for the Project Ara market pilot testing.”[25] Miami-based smartphone manufacturer Yezz revealed several module prototypes (including video-game controller and case-display) for an Ara phone at the Mobile World Congress on March 2, 2015.[26]
The Project ARA Market Pilot has been re-routed to the United States of America.[27]
American Market Pilot[edit]
After Project Fi was released, Google announced their intentions of moving the Market Pilot away from Puerto Rico to somewhere in the United States of America.[28] No further updates have been announced.
Reception[edit]
Initial reception to an earlier but similar modular phone concept—Phonebloks—was mixed, citing possible infeasibility, lack of a working prototype, as well as other production and development concerns. Project Ara's launch followed shortly after the launch of Phonebloks and better addressed some of the production and development issues since it hadOEM backing, but other issues were raised about the Project Ara modular concept.
Potential issues with the modular concept include a tradeoff between volumetric efficiency and modularity, as the framework interface holding the device would increase overall size and weight. Eremenko says modularity would create a difference of less than 25% in size, power, and weight to components, and he believes that is an acceptable trade-off for the added flexibility.[23] The current prototype is 9.7mm thick, slightly thicker than conventional smartphones.[13] Additional issues include regulatory approval; the FCC tests single configurations for approval, not modular configurations.[29] Google said the FCC "has been encouraging so far".[13]
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