Just days ahead of Google’s first Ara Developers’ Conference, the company has taken the wraps off the Project Ara Module Developers Kit (MDK).
Google has published the MDK documentation on the Ara’s website, which gives more information about the platform and includes guidelines for developers for creating modular parts.
“Today we’re announcing the first release of the Project Ara Module Developers Kit (MDK) v0.10,” Paul Eremenko, Head, Project Ara said in a Google+ post.
“This is a very early version but our goals are to give the developer community an opportunity to provide feedback and input, and to help us ensure that the final MDK – anticipated at the end of 2014 – is elegant, flexible, and complete.”
Project Ara, the modular smartphone initiative announced by Google last year, comprises of an endoskeleton (endo) and modules. The endo is the structural frame that holds all the modules in place. A module can be anything, from a new application processor to a new display or keyboard or other customisable hardware unit.
The MDK documentation, a total of 81 pages, reveals three different Ara skeleton sizes namely, mini – a basic unit, medium – a mainstream unit, and jumbo – a phablet-style model.
Google explains that Ara phones will have the potential for multiple batteries that can be swapped out without turning a handset off. As of now, Google will be the only provider of Ara skeletons, and the smaller modules will come from third-party developers.
Project Ara’s official site read, “The Module Developers Kit (MDK) defines the Ara platform for module developers and provides reference implementations for various design features. The Ara platform consists of an on-device packet-switched data network based on the MIPI UniPro protocol stack, a flexible power bus, and an elegant industrial design that mechanically unites the modules with an endoskeleton.”
Google’s Ara Developers Conference will kick off next week on April 15-16 in Mountain View, California, with registration closing tomorrow.
