Project Ara is the code name for an initiative that aims to develop an open hardware platform for creating highly modular smartphones. The platform will include a structural frame or exoskeleton 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 materials cost 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.
PROJECT GOALS
Google says the device is designed to be utilized by "6 billion people"; including 1 billion current smartphone users, 5 billion feature phone users, and 1 billion future users not currently connected. 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.
Google wants Project Ara 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.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.
PROJECT TEAM
Project Ara was developed and was led by Paul Eremenko. 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 Make program 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.
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).
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).
