Drop Tests Pose A Challenge For Google’s Project Ara | TechTree.com

Drop Tests Pose A Challenge For Google’s Project Ara

Could be one of the reasons why Google may have delayed the project until 2016.

 

Samsung does it, Nokia excelled at it and the last we knew even Apple was showing it off. We are talking about drop tests. They give a device manufacturer a good idea about how rigid the construction needs to be and in many cases is a decision that delves into the cost of the product as well.

The Project Ara team put out a pretty much random tweet the other day, and this came after the news that the project was delayed. One, where google cited no reasons for the same.

The tweet does give out a hint as to why the launch may have gotten delayed and it may have to do with drop tests.

The Project Ara smartphone that consists of multiple pieces of plug and play hardware seems to not be able to withstand drop tests. Clearly, you cannot have your smartphone falling apart into 7 different pieces, if you happen to fling it while passing it to someone or drop it from waist level.

Seems that the ‘electropermanent magnets’ that held the components and powered them were the problem. While they seemed like a technological achievement at first, it seems that they fail to hold components together under pressure.

But there is some good news as well. In another tweet that followed, the team also mentioned that they are working on another signature mechanism to attach/detach those Ara modules to the chassis. For now this remains a secret, that will only be revealed months before the launch.

Clearly, mobile devices today need to survive drop tests before they hit manufacturing. Because if they don’t you have plenty of reviewers dropping smartphones from different heights, until they shatter, anyways.

While there are plenty who hope that Project Ara results in failure, the smartphone industry will certainly benefit from the same. With Google’s billions and its OEM contact a lot can be achieved, whether the project takes off or not.

Source 1, Source 2


TAGS: Project Ara, Mobile Phones, Google

 
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