<s>
Project	B-Application
Ara	I-Application
was	O
a	O
modular	O
smartphone	O
project	O
under	O
development	O
by	O
Google	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
The	O
project	O
was	O
originally	O
headed	O
by	O
the	O
Advanced	B-Application
Technology	I-Application
and	I-Application
Projects	I-Application
team	O
within	O
Motorola	O
Mobility	O
while	O
it	O
was	O
a	O
Google	B-Application
subsidiary	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
retained	O
the	O
ATAP	B-Application
group	O
when	O
selling	O
Motorola	O
to	O
Lenovo	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
was	O
placed	O
under	O
the	O
stewardship	O
of	O
the	O
Android	B-Application
development	O
staff	O
;	O
Ara	O
was	O
later	O
split	O
off	O
as	O
an	O
independent	O
operation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
stated	O
that	O
Project	B-Application
Ara	I-Application
was	O
being	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
utilized	O
by	O
"	O
6	O
billion	O
people	O
"	O
:	O
1	O
billion	O
current	O
smartphone	O
users	O
,	O
and	O
5	O
billion	O
feature	B-Device
phone	I-Device
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Under	O
its	O
original	O
design	O
,	O
Project	B-Application
Ara	I-Application
was	O
intended	O
to	O
consist	O
of	O
hardware	O
modules	O
providing	O
common	O
smartphone	O
parts	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
processors	O
,	O
displays	O
,	O
batteries	O
,	O
and	O
cameras	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
modules	O
providing	O
more	O
specialized	O
components	O
,	O
and	O
"	O
frames	O
"	O
that	O
these	O
modules	O
were	O
to	O
be	O
attached	O
to	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
planned	O
to	O
launch	O
a	O
new	O
developer	O
version	O
of	O
Ara	O
in	O
the	O
fourth	O
quarter	O
of	O
2016	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
target	O
bill	O
of	O
materials	O
cost	O
of	O
$50	O
for	O
a	O
basic	O
phone	O
,	O
leading	O
into	O
a	O
planned	O
consumer	O
launch	O
in	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
that	O
day	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
confirmed	O
that	O
Project	B-Application
Ara	I-Application
had	O
been	O
shelved	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
intended	O
Project	B-Application
Ara	I-Application
to	O
lower	O
the	O
entry	O
barrier	O
for	O
phone	O
hardware	O
manufacturers	O
so	O
there	O
could	O
be	O
"	O
hundreds	O
of	O
thousands	O
of	O
developers	O
"	O
instead	O
of	O
the	O
existing	O
oligarchy	O
of	O
phone	O
manufacturers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Project	B-Application
Ara	I-Application
concept	O
consisted	O
of	O
modules	O
inserted	O
into	O
metal	O
endoskeletal	O
frames	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
endos	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
frame	O
would	O
be	O
the	O
only	O
component	O
manufactured	O
by	O
Google	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
planned	O
two	O
sizes	O
of	O
frames	O
on	O
launch	O
;	O
a	O
"	O
mini	O
"	O
frame	O
about	O
the	O
size	O
of	O
a	O
Nokia	O
3310	O
and	O
a	O
"	O
medium	O
"	O
frame	O
about	O
the	O
size	O
of	O
a	O
Nexus	B-Device
5	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
also	O
planned	O
a	O
"	O
large	O
"	O
,	O
phablet	B-Application
frame	O
about	O
the	O
size	O
of	O
a	O
Samsung	B-Application
Galaxy	I-Application
Note	I-Application
3	I-Application
to	O
be	O
released	O
in	O
the	O
future	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Modules	O
would	O
provide	O
common	O
smartphone	O
features	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
cameras	O
and	O
speakers	O
,	O
but	O
could	O
also	O
provide	O
more	O
specialized	O
features	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
medical	O
devices	O
,	O
receipt	O
printers	O
,	O
laser	O
pointers	O
,	O
pico	B-General_Concept
projectors	I-General_Concept
,	O
night	O
vision	O
sensors	O
,	O
or	O
game	O
controller	O
buttons	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Modules	O
were	O
to	O
be	O
hot-swapped	B-Device
without	O
turning	O
the	O
phone	O
off	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
frame	O
also	O
included	O
a	O
small	O
backup	O
battery	O
so	O
the	O
main	O
battery	O
can	O
be	O
hot-swapped	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
enclosures	O
of	O
the	O
modules	O
were	O
planned	O
to	O
be	O
3D-printed	O
,	O
but	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
development	O
in	O
the	O
technology	O
Google	B-Application
opted	O
instead	O
for	O
a	O
customizable	O
molded	O
case	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
intended	O
to	O
sell	O
a	O
starter	O
kit	O
where	O
the	O
bill	O
of	O
materials	O
is	O
US$50	O
and	O
includes	O
a	O
frame	O
,	O
display	O
,	O
battery	O
,	O
low-end	O
CPU	O
and	O
WiFi	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
planned	O
to	O
provide	O
an	O
open	O
development	O
process	O
for	O
modules	O
,	O
and	O
would	O
not	O
have	O
required	O
manufacturers	O
to	O
pay	O
a	O
license	O
fee	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Modules	O
were	O
to	O
be	O
available	O
both	O
at	O
an	O
official	O
Google	B-Application
store	O
and	O
at	O
third-party	O
retailers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similarly	O
to	O
Android	B-Application
apps	O
,	O
an	O
Ara	O
device	O
would	O
be	O
configured	O
by	O
default	O
to	O
only	O
accept	O
modules	O
officially	O
certified	O
by	O
Google	B-Application
,	O
but	O
users	O
would	O
have	O
been	O
able	O
to	O
disable	O
this	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Project	B-Application
Ara	I-Application
was	O
developed	O
and	O
was	O
led	O
by	O
Paul	O
Eremenko	O
,	O
who	O
in	O
2015	O
became	O
CEO	O
of	O
the	O
Airbus	O
Group	O
Silicon	O
Valley	O
technology	O
and	O
business	O
innovation	O
center	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
project	O
fell	O
under	O
Regina	O
Dugan	O
,	O
who	O
runs	O
Google	B-Application
's	I-Application
Advanced	I-Application
Technology	I-Application
and	I-Application
Projects	I-Application
(	O
ATAP	B-Application
)	O
organization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
core	O
Project	B-Application
Ara	I-Application
team	O
at	O
Google	B-Application
consisted	O
of	O
three	O
people	O
,	O
with	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
work	O
being	O
done	O
by	O
outside	O
contractors	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
NK	O
Labs	O
,	O
a	O
Massachusetts-based	O
engineering	O
firm	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NK	O
Labs	O
then	O
subcontracted	O
the	O
firm	O
Leaflabs	O
to	O
do	O
firmware	O
development	O
,	O
and	O
they	O
later	O
became	O
the	O
primary	O
firmware	O
developers	O
in	O
a	O
direct	O
contract	O
with	O
Google	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
its	O
acquisition	O
of	O
Motorola	O
Mobility	O
in	O
2011	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
had	O
previously	O
acquired	O
some	O
patents	O
related	O
to	O
modular	O
mobile	O
phones	O
from	O
Modu	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dutch	O
designer	O
Dave	O
Hakkens	O
announced	O
the	O
Phonebloks	B-Application
modular	O
phone	O
concept	O
independently	O
in	O
September	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Motorola	O
publicly	O
announced	O
Project	B-Application
Ara	I-Application
on	O
October	O
29	O
,	O
2013	O
and	O
said	O
they	O
will	O
be	O
working	O
collaboratively	O
with	O
Phonebloks	B-Application
although	O
the	O
original	O
team	O
,	O
consisting	O
of	O
internal	O
and	O
external	O
resources	O
,	O
continued	O
working	O
together	O
without	O
any	O
change	O
to	O
its	O
original	O
design	O
and	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
developers	O
 '	O
kit	O
relied	O
on	O
a	O
prototype	O
implementation	O
of	O
the	O
Ara	O
on-device	O
network	O
using	O
the	O
Mobile	O
Industry	O
Processor	O
Interface	O
(	O
MIPI	O
)	O
UniPro	B-Application
protocol	O
implemented	O
on	O
FPGA	B-Architecture
and	O
running	O
over	O
a	O
Low-voltage	B-Architecture
differential	I-Architecture
signaling	I-Architecture
(	O
LVDS	B-Architecture
)	O
physical	O
layer	O
with	O
modules	O
connecting	O
via	O
retractable	O
pins	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Subsequent	O
versions	O
were	O
to	O
be	O
built	O
around	O
a	O
much	O
more	O
efficient	O
and	O
higher	O
performance	O
ASIC	O
implementation	O
of	O
UniPro	B-Application
,	O
running	O
over	O
a	O
capacitive	O
M-PHY	O
physical	O
layer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
near-working	O
prototype	O
of	O
an	O
Ara	O
smartphone	O
was	O
demonstrated	O
at	O
Google	B-Application
I/O	I-Application
2014	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
froze	O
on	O
the	O
boot	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2015	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
unveiled	O
the	O
"	O
Spiral	O
2	O
"	O
prototype	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
it	O
planned	O
to	O
test	O
market	O
a	O
later	O
revision	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
in	O
the	O
U.S.	O
territory	O
of	O
Puerto	O
Rico	O
later	O
in	O
the	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
chose	O
the	O
region	O
due	O
to	O
it	O
having	O
a	O
large	O
mobile	O
phone	O
market	O
,	O
and	O
because	O
it	O
is	O
still	O
subject	O
to	O
U.S.	O
telecommunications	O
laws	O
—	O
allowing	O
for	O
continued	O
correspondence	O
with	O
the	O
FCC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
in	O
August	O
2015	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
announced	O
that	O
the	O
Ara	O
pilot	O
in	O
Puerto	O
Rico	O
had	O
been	O
delayed	O
indefinitely	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
the	O
company	O
would	O
instead	O
hold	O
pilots	O
in	O
"	O
a	O
few	O
locations	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
U.S.	O
some	O
time	O
in	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
Google	B-Application
I/O	I-Application
2016	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
unveiled	O
a	O
new	O
development	O
model	O
,	O
the	O
"	O
Developer	O
Edition	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
announced	O
that	O
it	O
planned	O
to	O
ship	O
the	O
Developer	O
Edition	O
in	O
late	O
2016	O
,	O
and	O
perform	O
a	O
consumer	O
launch	O
of	O
Project	B-Application
Ara	I-Application
in	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
September	O
2	O
,	O
2016	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
confirmed	O
that	O
Project	B-Application
Ara	I-Application
had	O
been	O
cancelled	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initial	O
reception	O
to	O
an	O
earlier	O
but	O
similar	O
modular	O
phone	O
concept	O
—	O
Phonebloks	B-Application
—	O
was	O
mixed	O
,	O
citing	O
possible	O
infeasibility	O
,	O
lack	O
of	O
a	O
working	O
prototype	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
other	O
production	O
and	O
development	O
concerns	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Project	B-Application
Ara	I-Application
's	O
launch	O
followed	O
shortly	O
after	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
Phonebloks	B-Application
and	O
better	O
addressed	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
production	O
and	O
development	O
issues	O
since	O
it	O
had	O
OEM	O
backing	O
,	O
but	O
other	O
issues	O
were	O
raised	O
about	O
the	O
Project	B-Application
Ara	I-Application
modular	O
concept	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2014	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
said	O
the	O
FCC	O
"[had]	O
been	O
encouraging	O
so	O
far	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
