arduino and the promise of open-source hardware
DESCRIPTION
Given at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) as part of the FWD series of talks.TRANSCRIPT
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 ([email protected])
http://web.media.mit.edu/~mellis/http://diymanufacturing.mit.edu/