Motorola has launched a new project to create modular smartphones built up of detachable components. The Google-owned company has teamed up with Dutch designer Dave Hakkens and his concept Phonebloks, which is a vision of a customisable smartphone that can be built like lego. Motorala's Project Ara is now developing a free, open hardware platform for creating highly modular smartphones.
In a blogpost, Paul Eremenko of the Motorola Advanced Technology and Projects group, said: "We want to do for hardware what the Android platform has done for software: create a vibrant third-party developer ecosystem, lower the barriers to entry, increase the pace of innovation, and substantially compress development timelines."
The idea of having a modular smartphone is that users can replace components over time instead of replacing the entire handset. It means it can be easily customised for each consumer's needs, and will also be more eco-friendly.
The Project Ara design consists of an endoskeleton, which is a structural frame, and modules which will be attached to it. The modules can be anything, from a new application processor to a new display or keyboard, an extra battery, or a pulse oximeter. Eremenko added invitations will be sent to developers in the next few months to create modules for the Ara platform, with the possibility of prizes.
Source: The Telegraph
