OpenMicro Labs Technical blog for my memory - From Chip to Cloud

좀 오래된 기사도 있지만 나름 읽어볼 만 하다.

• Hardware is now open (sourced) for business

Adafruit’s revenue has tripled year over year, and the company projects full-year revenue for 2013 will reach $20 million. Customers are not just limited to hobbyists and isolated makers, said Limor Fried, founder of Adafruit.

“What we’re building is really twofold,” said co-founder David Lang. “The individual tool and specific device is great. The other half is this community of people who have assembled.” – OpenRoV

Building a community can give rise to brand loyalty. The RepRap has emerged as the most popular open-source 3-D printer. Founder Adrian Bowyer designed it to be self-replicating and easily modified, so users can print replacement components or experiment with new ones.

New York-based littleBits makes electronic modules that snap together with magnets to make larger circuits. The company makes the designs for the circuits open to the public, but not the schematics for the magnetic connector. The idea is to allow the user base to contribute designs for future circuits and kits, while protecting the product. Founder Ayah Bdeir said the threat of another company copying its designs is always a concern, but it can also be an asset. “It’s kind of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it does create stress, but it also keeps you competitive,” she said.

• Open-Source Hardware Opens New Opportunities

Although open-source hardware has largely been seen as existing at the simpler end of the electronics design spectrum, it embraces two major assets within the engineering community—goodwill and collective intelligence—and is being recognised as an important movement with increasing opportunities across both industry and education.

RS now hosts the Open Source Design Centreon designspark.com, the company’s online resource for electronics design engineers.

• Interview To Gabriella Levine, OSHWA president

 Protei Inc (creating open source sailing drones),  Sneel.cc

Google, TI, Intel – 커며셜 제품 / 스타트업 / 아티스트, 하비스트

인터넷 덕택에 서로 collaboration이 가능 (community-driven innovation) – The internet has played a huge role in an growth of open source hardware technologies & communities. The internet  has allowed for quick & easy sourcing and distribution of tools like the laser cutter, 3d printers, prototyping boards. Online Wikis and Forums have been hugely influential to allow for conversation amongst people in remote locations. These have allowed easy distribution of how-to manuals as well as a place to get questions answered fast.

I believe that the forces driving the open source hardware landscape originated from growing accessibility of tools, which has been caused by faster communication (via the web) and cheaper faster shipping of physical goods, which has in turn led to a willingness of companies to do faster cheaper run supplies.

1. Distributors – Seeed Studio, Sparkfun and Adafruit  / 2. Platform technologies – Robotic platforms(OpenROV, DiyDrones), Prototyping platforms – Arduino, Beaglebone… ,  Open Hardware toolkits – Lasersaur, Educational platforms – Little Bits

China is a very interesting space for me to look towards as a country that, due to its lack of IP laws, is rapidly producing hardware. There is fast-paced manufacturing, and inexpensive tools and materials. I believe that China is going to be a huge driving force in the open source hardware landscape. Exemplary of this, I really love Tom Igoe’s “Idle Speculation on the Shanzhai and Open Fabrication”

• The Future of Open Source Hardware

the future of OSHW will be driven by the opportunistic semiconductor companies. The level of openness matters. OSHW will also be driven by the intensely creative and nascent Maker community, by the foresighted in academia, and by the altruism found in human nature. Look for more medical-related projects as professionals without borders look to solve problems, such as a low-cost, open source ECG,i and low-cost infusion pumps.

Further reading:

• http://www.tigoe.net/blog/category/environment/295/
• http://www.oshwa.org/sharing-best-practices/ – License 관련 참고