Open Source Hardware,For Fun and For Profithttp://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/10/24/0343244Fri Oct 24, 2008

Open Source Hardware Requirements

• The interface to the hardware must be explicitly made public, so the hardware can be used freely▫ information on using the hardware must be available

• The design of the hardware must be made public, so that others can implement it and learn from it▫ the design of the hardware must be available

• The tools used to create the design should be free, so that others can develop and improve the design▫ design software for hardware must be available

Definition of Terms• Free Hardware Design

▫ refers to a design which can be freely copied, distributed, modified, and manufactured

▫ does not mean hardware cannot be sold, or that implementation of design will be free of cost

▫ all arguments about meaning of 'freedom' between supporters of FSF and BSD_style license for software unfortunately carry over to hardware design

• Libre Hardware Design▫ French term▫ same class of design as FHD but tries to

make it clear that free refers to freedom not price

• Open Source Hardware▫ refers to hardware for which all the

design info is made available to the general public

▫ may be based exclusively off FHD or the design on which it is based may be restricted in some way(to hide IP)

• Open Hardware▫ trademark of the Open Hardware

Specification Program(debian, linux os)▫ limited form of OSH, requirement is that:

"Sufficient documentation on the device must be available for a competent systems programmer to write a device driver. The documentation must cover all of the features of the device-driver interface that any user would be expected to employ. This includes input/output and control functions and auxiliary functions such as performance measurement or self-test diagnostics. Details of on-board firmware and the hardware implementation need not be disclosed except when necessary to make it possible to program a driver for the device."

▫ ie, only a limited amount of information about the design need be available, possibly not enough, for example, to make a repair

• Free Hardware▫ term occasionally used as a synonym for

OSH▫ “hardware” appears to directly parallel to

“software”, suffers from blurring distinction between design and implementation

▫ implies that physical hardware, rather than design, is free

The Parts Of OSH• Hardware/Mechanical Diagrams

▫ enclosures▫ mechanical subsystems/moving parts

• Schematics and Circuit Diagrams▫ symbolic circuitry diagrams▫ parts list. often paired with layout diagram.

• Parts List(Bill of Materials)▫ what parts▫ where to get▫ parts numbers

• Layout Diagram▫ part placement▫ copper print

• Code/Firmware▫ code running on microcontroller▫ may be design of chip harware(VHDL)

• Software/API▫ software code that runs from computer(if any)▫ drivers▫ source code/binary *in practice not every layer is

open

OSH Applications• Computers and computer

components• Network reconfigurable

cameras• 3-D printers• Electronics

▫ phones Nokia cellphones VOIP phone routers

▫ Audio mp3 players guitar amps and petals

• Laptops▫ Via laptop▫ subnotebooks

• Machine tools• Medical

▫ open source prosthetics• Renewable energy

▫ Solar▫ wind

• Robotics• Vehicles

Advantages• OSH is open to the public so it can better meet personal

needs• Posting online has built a huge community of consumers

and fellow engineers resulting in near immediate feedback

• An open approach to hardware design can serve as a massive research and development effort and even quality assurance program for cheap

• A large user base would result in better support, better documentation and better implementation examples to work from

• The source is available, so the developer or consumer can see exactly what is going on underneath the hood

• Freely available, freely usable and reusable• As new standards are developed, open source hardware

will become more standards-compliant than proprietary hardware

Disadvantages

•Reliability•Licensing / Protection•Some companies may need to change

their business plan. This can be time consuming and/or prohibitively expensive

•Will only have progress while useful/interesting

•Faces some of the same disadvantages as open source software

Licensing• Hardware is based on patents not copyright• CC, GPL/LGPL, BSD• TAPR Open Hardware License(2/07)

▫ "Open Hardware is a thing - a physical artifact, either electrical or mechanical - whose design information is available to, and usable by, the public in a way that allows anyone to make, modify, distribute, and use that thing.“

▫ like the GNU GPL, is designed to guarantee your freedom to share and create

▫ unlike the GPL, the OHL is not primarily a copyright license. While copyright protects documentation from unauthorized copying, modification, and distribution, it has little to do with your right to make, distribute, or use a product based on that documentation

• Chumby HDK License(3/07)▫ restrictive license▫ free access to all documentation but you must publish any

modifications or new developments

Basic OSH Business Model• Publish diagrams and

documentation• Sell the parts in kits at a

mark-up▫ manufacturing costs are

high but scales well• Let the consumer/tinkerer

setup the final project

• Making Money▫ companies can pack sets

of designs and sell the distribution

▫ professional support▫ companies can implement

the designs and sell them as a whole or in kits

• Programmable logic devices and boards can increase their market and help gain company recognition

Examples• Arduino

▫ OSS/OSH electronics prototyping platform

▫ sells assembled circuit boards▫ 50,000 thousand units sold since

production 2yrs ago• Chumby

▫ open softball thingy▫ touchscreen, wifi▫ sells direct to consumer

• Fab@Home▫ 3-D fabber/printer▫ assembles layer by layer▫ 3rd party sells kits for them

• Daisy MP3 Player▫ direct to resellers

• Adafruit▫ kits for DIY electronics▫ direct to consumer▫ wholesale

Conclusion• The practice of sharing hardware designs has become much more

powerful and practical• The designs will be reusable and the source for future designs• The open source hardware concept is not only a design

methodology, it is also a management scheme and business trend• Open source hardware yields highly optimized and reliable designs• Open source hardware is close to customers' needs and can give

them the fastest design updates• Hardware combining open and closed source can still benefit from

improvements in development community, keeping some parts open but still protecting intellectual property

• There is still a way to go if open source hardware is ever going to be on level playing field with open source software

• It is possible that open source hardware will eventually not focus on competing with for-profit world, but fill in niches otherwise ignored▫ David Rowe developed inexpensive but high quality VOIP routers for

underdeveloped areas in Africa where they would otherwise not have access to or be able to afford phones

Fun Stuff

•Obi-Wan Cursor Video•BugLabs.net Video•MAKE Magazine

Discussion• Is "open" hardware a disruptive technology

that will foster the kind of collaboration that Linux brought to the software world?

• How can the reliability of open source hardware be guaranteed?

• What precise licensing methods should be used?

• What would happen if every PC maker kept changing the hardware around to “improve” the computer?

• What about the possible damaging effects of buggy hardware on the rest of a system?