Project Ara

                                          Project Ara

          Project Ara is the codename for an initiative by Google that aims to develop a free, open hardware platform for creating highly modular smartphones. The platform will include a structural frame that holds smartphone modules of the owner's choice, such as a display, keyboard 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.^[3][4] The first model of the modular phone is scheduled to be released in January 2015 and is expected to cost around $50.

The project was originally headed byModules will be available both at an official Google store and at third-party stores. Ara phones 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.

A plethora of news has come out of Google GOOGL +0.19%’s I/O conference this week, most of it revolving around Android and the company’s plan to use its popular mobile OS virtually everywhere. Representatives from Google GOOGL +0.19% talked about putting various customized versions of Android in automobiles, wearable devices, larger mobile devices, and of course more smartphones. Google even showed of a funky, super-cheap virtual reality headset made of cardboard at I/O. The cardboard pieces can be quickly opened up and folded into a structure that holds a smartphone, and the cardboard structure essentially splits the smartphone’s screen into left and right displays—one for each eye. Google aptly named the project ‘Cardboard’, and while it may seem silly at first, it’s actually quite ingenious.  You can read more about cardboard, here.

For a hardware junkie like me, one of the most interesting bits of information to come out of the event wasn’t even mentioned during the initial keynote and was ultimately somewhat of a failure.  During a live, on-stage demo in one of I/O’s smaller breakout sessions, members of Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) group, including Paul Eremenko, powered up a functional Project Ara device, which then began to boot Android. Eremenko is the current head of Project Ara at Google.

Google Project Ara module mock ups.

If you’re not familiar with Project Ara, it is Google’s initiative (which was originally started at Motorola Mobility) to build fully modular, open hardware platform for smartphones. If all goes to plan, there will be three initial Project Ara frames (Mini, Medium, and Large) that will accept various modules for things like the CPU, memory, camera, and network controllers. Users of Project Ara devices (assuming they ever make it to market) could essentially configure and upgrade their smartphones at will, similar to the desktop PCs of today. The idea is that if a Project Ara user wants a faster processor or better camera, he or she could simply swap out that module, without having to replace the entire smartphone. The project is ambitious and has garnered plenty of justified skepticism to this point, partly because there have been no public demos of working prototypes—until now.

During the demo, Eremenko and crew are up on stage, while a cameraman points his camera at the Project Ara prototype. The feed from the camera is projected on a large screen, so the attendees in the audience can see what’s happening. The prototype phone is powered up, and shortly thereafter an Android loading screen is displayed. A few moments after that, a portion of the clock on the lock screen appears on the device’s display and then the demo is concluded, amid cheers from the audience.

The Project Ara prototype device shown at Google I/O.

It’s not clear if the Project Ara device used in the demo hung or if its failure to display the entire lock screen was a simple graphics rendering issue, but it doesn’t really matter. The fact that a semi-working prototype was shown to the public is a major step forward.

A lot still has to happen before Project Ara can bear fruit. Android doesn’t have support for modularity just yet (that should be coming in a few months), hardware partners have to start making viable modules, and consumers need to be educated about the platform. Regardless, it seems Google plans to continue development of the platform, and who knows what the future holds. If Project Ara is successful and the idea of a modular smartphone takes hold (a BIG if), it could be a game changer.