Project Ara

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In this concept one can hardly recognize the individual modules.

Project Ara was a project by Google to develop a modular smartphone . As with the Phonebloks system , everyone should be able to add or remove individual components of the cell phone. To begin with, “endoskeletons” are designed in three sizes. Various modules - e.g. B. the SoC , the battery or the display - can be installed and replaced in the event that they are defective or obsolete. As a result, the smartphone should remain cheaper over the longer term and there should be less electronic waste. It would also be possible to create a smartphone that can be adapted to suit one's own needs.

Function and structure

The base plates, called endoskeletons, should be available in the sizes small (4 ″), medium (4.5 ″) and large (5 ″, each with a screen diagonal). Modules, which were held by a permanent magnet, had to be pushed onto it. (A permanent magnet is permanent; if necessary, its magnetic field is neutralized by an electric current through a coil.) The module sizes are 1 × 1, 1 × 2 and 2 × 2 units. One unit corresponds to 20 mm, but a module with a length of 2 units is 43 mm long. Each module can be inserted into any compartment on the back, provided the size is the same. They are also compatible with the other device sizes. The modules on the front are an exception, as they use the entire width of the endoskeleton.

The base plate with a small battery and a weak processor from Rockchip were not interchangeable, they were only intended to enable all components to be replaced with the exception of the CPU and display when switched on.

The upgrade as a blood pressure monitor, thermal imaging or night vision camera was also considered.

A modified version of Android Lollipop is used as the operating system, which is supposed to enable "hot swapping", ie the exchange of modules while the device is still switched on.

history

The Phonebloks project by the Dutch designer Dave Hakkens with the aim of developing a modular smartphone was initially met with skepticism, as there were many technical hurdles to be overcome and hardly any corporation was willing to work with a small team to develop a competitive device . In parallel, Motorola developed a similar project called 'Sticky'. This gained in feasibility, also because the development was started by the "Advanced Technologies and Projects" team (ATAP for short; German: advanced technologies and projects), which was part of Motorola's parent company Google . There was a meeting with the Phonebloks founder, but no collaboration. The name changed to "Project Ara". When Google announced its intention to sell Motorola to Lenovo, the team responsible remained part of Google.

In April 2014, namesake Ara Knaian and project manager Paul Eremenko announced that prototypes would be functional in the same month. On June 27, 2014, Google presented a prototype at the I / O fair that stopped working when switched on. In 2016, Google announced a complete reorientation of the project. The idea was modified in such a way that basic components such as CPU , GPU and screen could no longer be exchanged and only six slots were available for expansions. Later that year, Google stopped the entire project.

Motivation for the project

Google sought by Ara more users of Android - smartphones and less profits by hardware -Sales. For example, a “basic version” with display, battery, memory, WiFi module and low-end SoC should be sold for around 50 US dollars at the market launch. The goal was the resulting growth of Google's mobile operating system Android.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c "Project Ara: Video demonstration of the modular smartphone reveals new details ... and fascinates" . See in particular embedded video.androidnext.de. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  2. ↑ Jens Minor: Project ARA: Further details on the modular smartphone; Market launch in the 2nd half of 2015. In: GoogleWatchBlog. January 17, 2015, accessed January 17, 2015 .
  3. ↑ Nico Ernst: Rockchip and Toshiba in Google's modular smartphone. In: Golem - IT news for professionals. August 25, 2014, accessed September 30, 2014 .
  4. ^ A b Giulio Minotti: Project Ara News. In: Phonebloks Blog. September 29, 2014, accessed September 30, 2014 .
  5. ↑ Sebastian Grüner: Android fork for modular smartphone Ara. In: Golem - IT news for professionals. July 31, 2014, accessed September 30, 2014 .
  6. ↑ Andreas Floemer: Phonebloks: Modular smartphone should become reality. In: AndroidNext.de. September 11, 2014, accessed April 8, 2014 .
  7. ↑ [1]
  8. ↑ "Phonebloks: Video shows the history of Project Ara, developer kit for modules announced" .androidnext.de. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  9. ↑ Ingo Pakalski: Google confirms the end of the modular smartphone. In: golem.de. September 5, 2016, accessed September 5, 2016 .
  10. ↑ Project Ara founder says it's harrowing, crushing and disappointing , In: 9to5google.com of September 1, 2016
  11. ↑ Main page of Project Ara. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on August 10, 2015 ; accessed on July 28, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.projectara.com