Tag: The Verge

The future is modular?

Perhaps it is, but the key takeaway from Project Ara, a modular function mobile device, is that they are trying out the idea rapidly. It is based out of something called Phonebloks:

Phonebloks began as a college project. It was an idea more than it ever was a business. It was an idea Phonebloks hoped would spread across the internet and someone would grab it and run with it. In the last year or so, the idea has spread, and now multiple companies are using this idea to drive their business. One of those companies is Google.

Project Ara took shape with the acquisition of Motorola. Motorola and Google took the idea of Phonebloks, a modular phone with swappable parts, from idea to concept. And even though Google is in the process of selling Motorola to Lenovo, they are keeping Project Ara in house.

Watch a couple of minutes of this presentation to see how the project has come about:

Modularness is the main point, but the whole project is driven by the developer/maker community.

There are plenty of themes that the Colorado Hyperloop can use for its development. But in reality, in order for the Hyperloop to be built along the front range, it will truly have to be developed in conjunction with community input. The tube and loop system should be as modular and customizable as possible.

The wider community facilities development and that is why the hyperloop should demonstrate different modular designs.