One of Google's experimental "moonshot" projects by its Advanced Technology and Project (ATAP) group, Project Ara, was turned on for the first time in public during a session on the second day of the Google I/O conference. Unfortunately it hung at the boot screen – that's a shame as it’s a project I am personally very interested in.
For those unfamiliar with Project Ara, it is a modular phone concept which is based on connecting swappable component blocks to a handset endoskeleton. The modules are held together via electro-permanent magnets and the idea behind the project is that users no longer have to update their entire smartphones, but just update components instead.
Project Ara leader, Paul Eremenko, delivered details about the progress of Ara and aimed to do a demonstration with a working prototype. Although there were still a lot of problems with the device, which caused it to consistently freeze; it was possible at least get to the boot screen and offer developers an early look at what the team has been building so far.
"We started by turning statements like 'it's impossible' into numbers," Eremenko said, as he took on the critics who said Ara would not be possible, reports The Verge. He told the audience that the Ara team is investigating new ways to solve the many technical problems, by quantifying the exact things that would make the project difficult. Another thing Ara developers have to figure out is software, and changes will need to be done in order for Android to support this Ara's modularity.
During the presentation, Eremenko also challenged developers who are interested in the modular smartphone project to create a working module which will allow a phone do something "a phone has never done before." The developer or team who can build such a working component for Ara will receive $100,000 (£58,732) and an all-expenses paid trip to the next Ara developer's conference taking place this autumn.
This actually sounds like just a reminder about the $100k prize for the best module which was announced, also by Eremenko, in April this year. The closing date for the competition entry is 1st September and the working module must be in ATAP's hands by the end of September 2014.
Previously we heard that the Project Ara smartphone will be available as early as January 2015 and the 'endo' will cost just $50.
