Arduino and the Promise of Open-Source Hardware

Arduino and the Promise ofOpen-Source Hardware

David A. Mellis

February 27, 2012

Context: Manufacturing in the Digital Age

• Digital Fabrication (CAD/CAM)

• Microcontrollers

• Internet

Context: Manufacturing in the Digital Age

• Crowd-Sourcing: CUUSOO (Muji, Lego), KickStarter, Quirky

• On-Demand Production: i.materialise, Ponoko, Shapeways, Advanced Circuits

• Online Marketplaces: Etsy, Amazon, eBay

• Generative Design

• Mass Customization

• Open-Source Hardware

Arduino

Breathalyzer Genie by Christopher T. Palmer (Photo by Christian Spanring)

Biomimetic Butterflies by the Barbarian Group

Photo by Jens Erik Mikkelsen

Rancilio Silvia espresso machine hacking by Tim Hirzel

Earthwalk by Jens Franke & Thomas Gläser

Open-Source Hardware

“Source”

• Digital design file

• Can be translated into physical object

• Has to be the original

“Open”

• Sharing online

• Allowing commercial use

• Complicated by expensive CAD software

Why open-source hardware?

• Economics

• Education

• Moral

Why does it matter?

• New and growing practice

• Alternative to proprietary production

• Increasingly a norm

Product

• Developed to be sold

• Useful because you can buy it

• New variations are often new products

Decentralized

Open-Source Hardware Open-Source Software

Not very well.

• Lack of software tools

• Differing component selections

• Monetary complications

Bootstrapping

• Started with $2000

• Continually re-invested revenues

• Possible because of digital (PCB) fabrication

Ecosystem

Ecosystem: Derivatives

http://blog.makezine.com/2009/12/11/arduino-open-source-hardware-2009/

Ecosystem: Accessories

Ecosystem: DIY Drones

Ecosystem: LilyPad

Ecosystem: Robots

Ecosystem: Devices

Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories

Ecosystem: Media

Limits to Openness

• Manufacturing process

• Suppliers

• Trademark / branding

David Robert Tayo Falase

Hannah Perner-Wilson Jean-Baptiste Labrune

Tim Kunkel Gonglue Jiang

Andrew Payne Sarah Hirschman

Design for DIY Manufacturingdiymanufacturing.mit.edu

Open-Source Hardware Community

• Summit

• Definition

• Logo

• Association

Thank you.

David A. Mellis (mellis@media.mit.edu)

http://web.media.mit.edu/~mellis/http://diymanufacturing.mit.edu/