Spiral 2 will be demonstrated at a developer’s conference on 14 January

Individual modules are shown being added to, and removed, from handset

In a video, an engineer is shown turning on the device and launching an app

has been dubbed Spiral 1 by engineers at NK Labs

Just six months since Google unveiled designs of its Project Ara handsets, engineers have already created the first working prototype.

Dubbed Spiral 1, an engineer is shown turning on the device, unlocking it and launching an app during a video filmed at NK Labs in Boston.

Individual modules are shown being added to, and removed, from the handset including the LED module, battery, processor, speaker, and a USB port.

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Dubbed Spiral 1, the device (pictured) is demonstrated during a video filmed at NK Labs in Boston. Individual modules are shown being added to, and removed, from the handset including the LED module, battery, processor, speaker, and a USB port

'The first step is figuring out how is this is going to work,' explained the creative agency.

'What are going to be the functions of the different parts of the system? And then from there, we select specific components and draw schematics.'

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT ARA? According to the developer kit, Ara phones will be able run on multiple batteries - when one battery dies, it can be detached and replaced with a full battery module. E ach phone will have a central 'spine' and an endoskeleton - nicknamed 'endo' - made of ribs that the individual modules will clip on to. There will be three different sized endos - including mini, medium and large - to rival the existing range of phones currently on the market, from compacts to phablets. Larger phones will be able to accomodate either larger, or additional modules, than the mini will. Google's kit describes various modules including batteries, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips, cameras, speakers and more. In theory, any sensor that can be fitted to a module will be able to attach to a module and while Google will make the shell, these modules will be made by other companies. By printing their own parts, users will also be able to customise them. Advertisement

'Once you have a layout, you get the boards fabricated.

'It’s magical when you open up the box and say "oh my goodness, that’s the thing we’ve spent all these months designing."

The firm continued that when the power is applied for the first time to the modules, it's what is known as the Smoke Test.

'Your primary thought at that point is, is this thing going to start smoking?' continued the engineer.

'Is it going to overheat? Is there some critical error or not? And then, once we have the individual pieces working we put them into the complete system.'

In the video, a board is shown fitted with connectors. The designers then demonstrate sliding the components in and out.

In the Spiral 1 prototype, 50 per cent of the phone is taken up by the modules, but Toshiba has made custom chips for Spiral 2, which the company said will increase the amount of space on the device.

Spiral 2 will be demonstrated at a developer’s conference on 14 January.

According to the developer kit files released in April, Ara phones will be able run on multiple batteries - when one battery dies, it can be detached and replaced with a full battery module.

Lower-resolution cameras can be swapped with higher-res versions, and users will be also be able to 3D print replacement parts.

In the video, an engineer is also shown turning on the device (pictured), unlocking it and launching an app. According to the developer kit files released in April, Ara phones will be able run on multiple batteries - when one battery dies, it can be detached and replaced with a full battery module

By printing their own parts, users will also be able to customise them.

The files also revealed each phone will have a central 'spine' and an endoskeleton - nicknamed 'endo' - made of ribs that the individual modules will clip on to.

This spine is shown in the Phonebloks video at NK Labs.

There will be three different sized endos - including mini, medium and large - to rival the existing range of phones currently on the market, from compacts to phablets.

In the Spiral 1 prototype, (platform concept pictured) 50 per cent of the phone is taken up by the modules, but Toshiba has made custom chips for Spiral 2, which the company said will increase the amount of space on the device. Spiral 2 will be demonstrated at a developer’s conference on 14 January

Each phone will have a central 'spine' and an endoskeleton that individual modules will clip on to. There will be three different sized endos - mini, medium and large (pictured)

Larger Ara phones will be able to accomodate more modules than the mini will, for example.

Google's kit describes various modules including batteries, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips, cameras, speakers and more.