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A new patent filed by Facebook suggests that it is working on a modular device of its own. Titled “modular electromechanical device,” the patent envisions a device whose components can be easily swapped as and when needed.
The patent envisions a device with modular functionality which can be upgraded by swapping its components when required. The device envisioned in the patent features a touch display, GPS, speaker, microphones and can even act as a phone.
This patent is not all though. A secretive division inside Facebook at Building 8 — the company’s secretive hardware lab division — now employs the same people who previously worked on Project Ara at Google. This even includes Regina Dugan who was the head of Project Ara at Google.
A Business Insider source claims that the team inside Building 8 is focused on creating a cutting-edge camera and machine learning technology. The modular device in the patent can be powered by Alexa or Facebook’s own assistant if the company ever plans on launching one.
For now, it is unclear what Facebook’s ambitions are with its modular device. However, given that modular smartphone and other electronic devices are going to become mainstream over the next few years, any work in this area from Facebook will likely benefit the company down the line.
[Via Business Insider]
