Project Ara: A Modular Smartphone

Project Ara is a modular phone concept that was started by Motorola and is now being continued as a Google project. The Ara, which is predicted to be selling in a watered down version next year, uses tiles that perform individual functions to create a smartphone that is exactly what the user wants. Want more memory. There's a module for that. Need a better camera? There's a module for that.

The concept is brilliant. Instead of having to upgrade an entire device you can simply swap out individual components. And of course you are able to change the phone to your changing interests.This phone also leaves itself open to hackers, makers, and small companies to create modules for it. This will create a new generation of hardware "apps" that can be used with this phone. It really brings development back from software and more toward the hardware. It can become a hobby to create a module for your phone just as it is to create an app now.

Overall, the design of the Ara is decent. It remains slim like other phones, and its modules are aesthetically pleasing and comfortable. The only issue right off is that the design of the endoskeleton frame limits layout of modules to certain sizes in certain places. This decreases the modularity somewhat, but helps to maintain the the overall aesthetic of the phone. (people can't make ugly phones)

The Ara also adds one more touch of customizability to the phone by planning to let customers 3-D print panels to cover the modules with. These panels can be multicolored and have various textures to suit the user.

In a world with increasing demand for products to adapt to the needs of the user, especially in software, it is great to see that someone is working to add that personalization to the tangible world.

The video below was a promotion to get an earlier modular phone concept off the ground, Phoneblocs

Baxter the Robot

Baxter is a new generation in industrial robots created by Rethink Robotics. He is a machine that can be trained by the average person to perform mundane tasks like assembly line work.

One of the reasons Baxter is so great is because he is a personal and safe kind of industrial robot. He is designed to literally work alongside his human coworkers. He has eyes that look in the direction where he is going to move to give visual queues to bystanders. He is able to feel obstructions in his path so that he doesn't plow anyone down with his arms. But most importantly, Baxter is able to be trained by the average person. In order to teach Baxter a task all anyone has to do is guide his arms in the general direction that they need to move and show him what he is grabbing. From there, Baxter perfects the motion and makes it smooth and efficient.

While that is all great, Baxter has one more benefit, cost. Baxter only costs $25,000. This is a fraction of a standard industrial robot arm without programming. Baxter literally costs less than the wages of a worker that would do the same task. This is a first. Robots are normally very expensive because their mechanics are very expensive so only large corporation could afford them because of their long-term efficiency. The folks at Rethink Robotics have made Baxter affordable to the average, small manufacturer.

And one last thing. While Baxter is cheaper than the average line worker he is not meant to replace them. He is meant to elevate them to his supervisor. So now the person doesn't have to do the repetitive monotonous work but instead makes sure that Baxter does it well.

Baxter was designed with the end user and the industry in mind. And his contribution will no doubt be a significant one.

You can see Baxter in action in the video below