Imagine if smartphones could be built the way you want them to be, with all sorts of different combinations possible with various parts made from different manufacturers and developers. This open-source hardware idea is the basis of a new initiative developed by Motorola’s Advanced Technology and Projects group. Today they announced Project Ara.
Just like the software from many different developers that can be used on Android devices, allowing the user the freedom to pick and choose the applications they want to use, Motorola wants to do the same for hardware. Buyers would be able to select whether they want an extra battery, a new keyboard, a different screen and so on and so forth. All of these parts, called modules, would then be tacked on to the endoskeleton or ‘endo’ which would then hold all the various pieces in place. This is to be the driving force of this open hardware platform that serves the purpose of allowing third-party developers to submit their parts, where the barriers have been lowered to also welcome new-comers and entry-level technology. Motorola believes that this would decrease production time so the end user would have their creation in hand much sooner than they do now.
So this is the idea, what’s next? Phonebloks and the Project Ara Team are assigning their research scouts with the task of learning more about their target audiences, to determine exactly what it is consumers want to have in a handset. Next, they plan on inviting developers to start working on the Ara platform in the coming months and they suspect that in winter time they’ll launch the Module Developer’s Kit to get this project underway.
Just like the software from many different developers that can be used on Android devices, allowing the user the freedom to pick and choose the applications they want to use, Motorola wants to do the same for hardware. Buyers would be able to select whether they want an extra battery, a new keyboard, a different screen and so on and so forth. All of these parts, called modules, would then be tacked on to the endoskeleton or ‘endo’ which would then hold all the various pieces in place. This is to be the driving force of this open hardware platform that serves the purpose of allowing third-party developers to submit their parts, where the barriers have been lowered to also welcome new-comers and entry-level technology. Motorola believes that this would decrease production time so the end user would have their creation in hand much sooner than they do now.
So this is the idea, what’s next? Phonebloks and the Project Ara Team are assigning their research scouts with the task of learning more about their target audiences, to determine exactly what it is consumers want to have in a handset. Next, they plan on inviting developers to start working on the Ara platform in the coming months and they suspect that in winter time they’ll launch the Module Developer’s Kit to get this project underway.
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