Project Ara is a new modular smart phone concept which allows easy add-on and removal of components. This is made possible with an aluminium endoskeleton which acts as a mainboard and each customisable component is slot into place with electro-permanent magnets. The project was first mooted by PhoneBloks and Motorola. After Lenovo’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility, the project is still retained under Google.
After much talks and teasing, their first working prototype is said to be available next month according to a report by MIT Technology Review. The phone’s endoskeleton will come with 8 slots at the back and 2 slots at the front. Some of the modules available include displays, buttons, camera, power, sensors and even medical monitoring.
The ecosystem will be open and Google would need to work hard to convince manufacturers and consumers to look at Project Ara as a sustainable smart phone solution. Ideally everybody can maintain their smart phone for a longer life span and an upgrade is just a module swap away. Obviously being modular has its own compromise but the trade off in terms of power, weight and size is below 25% which they claim to be an acceptable compromise. To cater for different user demands, there’s also a possibility of a mini and phablet size Endoskeleton in the future.
Google isn’t alone in its pursuit for a modular smart phone. ZTE has its own concept called Eco-Mobius but it is limited to just 4 modules – Screen, Camera, Battery and a combo of processor and memory
Check out some work in progress images of Project Ara after the break.
