Modular Smartphones

(Googles Project ARA)

Presented By
Rohit Gupta
06613303112

Contents

Mobile Software customisability

Mobile Hardware Customisability
Introducing Project ARA
Overview
How it works
Major Components
Project ARA models
Uni-Pro Technology
DevCon Announcements
History of Project ARA
Advantages
Disadvantages
References

Google Revolutionised the Software Part of the Mobile Phones

by The Introduction Of ANDROID
Open Sourced
Free to modify and use
Almost 75% of all the Smart Phones all over
the world are android based smartphones.
Users can modily almost each and everything
in operating system.
They solved the problem of software
customisability that the mobile industry was
facing.

butWhat about the Hardware Customisability?

Yes, There are approx. 18,000 Different android devices to choose from!!!!!!

But once you buy a smartphone, You are simply stuck with the specifications that
it came with. You cannot customise its hardware!

IT IS A HUGE LIMITATION THAT THE

SMARTPHONE INDUSTRY IS YET TO OVERCOME.

Google is now going to revolutionise the

HARDWARE PART
of the mobile phones.

How exactly they are going to do it?

Introducing Project ARA

OVERVIEW
PROJECT ARA is the codename for an initiative by Google that aims to
develop an 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, NFC chip, Bluetooth chip, Iris scanner etc.
It would allow users to swap out malfunctioning modules or upgrade
individual modules as innovations emerge.

Project ARA is the hardware equivalent of the

software ecosystem!!
Think of it as the analog to the android app ecosystem
just in hardware

Why choose a phone for its camera?

When you can choose it for your phone!!!

HISTORY
Initial exploration of this concept began in 2012 and work started on April 1
2013.
Dutch designer Dave Hakkens announced the Phonebloks modular phone
concept independently in September 2013.
Motorola publicly announced Project Ara on October 29, 2013 and said they will
be working collaboratively with Phonebloks.
A near-working prototype of an Ara phone was presented at Google I/O 2014;
however, the device froze on the boot screen and failed to boot completely.

Project ARA has two core component :

The ENDOSKELETON
MODULES

ENDOSKELETON

ENDOSKELETON
The Ara Endoskeleton (or Endo) is the frame and backplane
of the device, determining the size and layout of the phone.
Ara modules slide in and attach to the Endos slots, which
has a backplane to electrically and logically connect modules
together. In the interest of maintaining the integrity of the Ara
platform specification, third-party Endo development is not
permitted.

The ARA phone will come with 3 variants of Endoskeletons

Mini
Medium
Jumbo

Project ARA Models

Modules can be anything that users can think of

battery , speaker , camera , etc . They can be developed by
anyone; 3D-printed on demand, used, replaced and even
re-sold ensuring your phone is completely made for each
user. Module development is open-source and there is a
toolkit provided to help developers understand the
hierarchy
of functions and how
components can be
integrated.

PROTOTYPE APPLICATION PROCESSOR MODULE,

WHICH HOUSE THE CPU, MEMORY, SD CARD SLOT.

UniPro Technology
UniPro is a high speed internet protocol that project ARA uses to
allow its modules to speak to each other.
They share a common low level language for communicating and
building a network.
Project ARA is tapping into the latest UniPRO 1.6
Which offer high-bandwidth, and low power connections between
the modules.

PROJECT ARA PROTOTYPE MODELS

2 Prototype models of project ara has been released namely

Spiral 1

Spiral 2

Spiral 2 is the first working prototype of the Project Ara.

Spiral 2 Prototype
Dual application processors
(Marvell PXA1928 and Tegra K1)
A 720p display
5MP camera
MicroUSB port
Battery
Speaker module
Network connectivity options
consist of 3Gmodem
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth.

There are 11 working modules for the Project Ara 2 smartphone. Google plans
to have as many as thirty options available by the end of this year.

PROJECT ARA DEVCON2 ANNOUNCEMENTS (2015)

They gave the live Demo of the Project ARA Spiral 2

PROJECT ARA ANNOUNCEMENTS (2015)

When hot swapping batteries, you have about 30

seconds right now to change them. The aimed
timeframe is about 2-3 minutes.
They meant to release the Spiral 3 prototype with
improved 4g connectivity in 2nd quarter of 2015 but it
has been pushed back to 2016 due to some issues
that have not been disclosed .

PROJECT ARA DEVCON2 ANNOUNCEMENTS (2015)

The first working Camera module comes from TOSHIBA

Their team is experimenting with different kinds of packaging.

There will be different kits for different usec ases like Hiking or Travel kits.

Advantages of ARA phones

Phone is very cheap.
You only buy the features that you want.
Your phone could last indefinitely.
Repairs are easier and cheaper.
You could have two versions of your phone.
It will reduce the increasing E-Waste.
You would be able to easily share few parts (Modules) of your mobile
phones with your family and friends.

Disadvantages of ARA phones

It will be bigger and heavier than a current smartphones.
The connectors are bound to cause problems.
Certain combinations wont work.
It wont be optimized.

A Phone Worth Keeping!

References
www.projectara.com
www.phoneblocks.com
www.wikipedia.com
Project Ara MDK ( Module Development
Kit )

Any Questions?

THANK YOU
Presented By
Rohit Gupta
06613303112