Project Ara from Google could have far reaching effects on IoT hardware development
Project Ara, the modular smartphone concept from Google, is slowly becoming a reality. Recently, project lead Rafa Camargo revealed a huge milestone by anouncing developer kits will be shipping later this year with a consumer version available sometime in 2017.
The revelation came as part of an exclusive interview with Wired, where we learn that the developer edition shipping later this year will feature a 5.3-inch display and is described as a fairly high-end product.
The interest from IoT developers is due to the six module slots on the back of the phone that utilise an open standard called UniPro. Each of the slots can transfer data to another module at up to 11.9 Gb per second and consumes just a third a third of the power of USB 3.0.
On the prototype, pressing a button on the side of the phone brings up a menu showing all of the installed modules. Selecting the module from the menu releases it from the back of the phone.
The Project Ara team decided to handle this aspect of the device with software as it prevents mechanical accidents or failure. Users will even be able to password-protect modules carrying sensitive data.
To add a new module to the phone, it is simply pushed into place where there is a free slot.
As to what sort of modules IoT developers will create, there’s no shortage of ideas. Already devices like flashlights, speakers, projectors, interface keys, RFiD readers and even a panic button are just a few of the many potential modules being proposed.