Developers who want to dig into Google’s Advanced Technologies and Projects (ATAP) group’s customizable phone project, Project Ara, will soon get the chance. Google announced that the alpha release of its Ara Module Developers’ Kit (MDK) is on its way.
The MDK, which is a free, open platform specification and reference implementation (according to Google), will be introduced during the first Ara Developers’ Conference, scheduled for April 15-16.
“This first version of the MDK relies on a prototype implementation of the Ara on-device network using the MIPI UniPro protocol implemented on FPGA and running over an LVDS physical layer,” Google wrote on the Project Ara website. “Subsequent versions will soon be built around a much more efficient and higher-performance ASIC implementation of UniPro, running over a capacitive M-PHY physical layer.”
Google will walk developers through the MDK during the conference and also offer a community feedback session.
Project Ara was first introduced by Motorola Mobility in October, and is one of the few projects Google held onto after Lenovo acquired Motorola last month.
The conference will be held at the Computer History Museum near the Googleplex in Mountain View, Calif. Only a limited number of developers will be able to attend; all others will be able to live-stream the event.
“We invite developers of all shapes and sizes: from major OEMs to innovative component suppliers to startups and new entrants into the mobile space,” Google wrote on the project’s page.
