Non-profit organization open source Hardware Association will be set up to promote open source hardware

Driven by the success of the Open source software campaign, a group of technology enthusiasts are seeking to unify the decentralized open source hardware community in an effort to drive http://www.aliyun.com/zixun/aggregation/6577.html "> Hardware innovation.

A group of technicians will set up the Open Source Hardware Association (OSHA) to facilitate the creation and sharing of hardware or electronic designs. The association hopes to boost the growth of the open source hardware movement. The association aims to promote the spirit of the open source community and to collaborate in the revision and updating of hardware designs with the aim of improving the product.

Alicia Gibb, founder of the Open Source Hardware Association, Sia Gibb that the concept of open source hardware is to publicly publish the design of physical hardware such as processors, machines or devices for reuse. However, like open source software, the concept of open source hardware also has licensing and legal issues. The association wants to explore these issues and educate people about the benefits of open source hardware.

Open source hardware, similar to open source software, is designed to be used in commercial applications. Businesses can make money from here. While software can easily replicate, the cost of open source hardware is higher due to issues related to production, materials, and distribution.

Gibb says open source hardware has many similar concepts to open source software. However, there are many differences, because the hardware is a different thing. As a physical object, hardware has different ways, formats and problems with software.

However, the community needs to collaborate to share, build, and upgrade hardware. This ultimately leads to advanced products. Gibb said the organization will hold an open source hardware summit in New York each year, with hackers, do-it-yourself and professionals discussing equipment, manufacturing, design, business and law issues. Gibb used to be one of the organizers of such meetings.

Gibb says open source hardware is a way to share technology innovation. We publish all the required documents to improve, derive, or recreate what has been built.

The open source hardware movement centers on technology enthusiasts and fashion designers and artists who want to create specific equipment. Some projects include the creation of a paper piano and the "Garden Dome" project being implemented for the vegetable garden. This is the planting of vegetables in tents, whose environmental conditions can be monitored and controlled remotely. The project has received nearly 8000 dollars from 158 supporters on the Kickstarter.

Gibb says many projects focus on Arduino microcontrollers. This is a typical example of open source hardware and is an excellent illustration of how open source hardware works. Arduino has been produced, republished and manufactured in different ways, and everyone is very enthusiastic.

New Open source hardware design to create a fully working PC. Beaglebone is a miniature motherboard that configures the ARM processor to run a full Linux operating system. The ARM processor is used primarily for smartphones and tablets.

A big-name organization that is about to join the open source hardware movement is Raspberry Pi Foundation. Eben Upton, executive director of the Foundation, said the 25-dollar and 35-dollar PC currently launched by the Ibn Upton will be an Open-source hardware product.

Raspberry Pi wants to release hardware solutions and printed circuit board designs. This way, other people can clone this product. This PC platform is a motherboard that is as big as a credit card without a shell. However, because some chips and components in short supply, the design has not open source.

Upton says open source is well defined, so that Arduino is well designed. There are many good examples now.

The Raspberry Pi platform received attention last year due to low prices and the ability to run a wide range of applications. Raspberry Pi can be used to play games, transfer movies to televisions or use Office applications. Pi configures an ARM processor and a powerful graphics processor capable of handling Blu-ray video.

The open source hardware campaign has also been driven by organizations such as CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, that joined the movement.

Public knowledge will organize an open source hardware meeting in Washington in Friday. Michael Weinberg, a public knowledge lawyer, said there was still work to be done because the open source hardware movement was not as obvious as the Open-source software movement Michael Wimberg.

Weinberg is also interested in open source hardware and the relationship between open source hardware and law. This has always been an important issue for open source software. Another issue is the definition and authorization of open source hardware.

The software is copyrighted, says Weinberg. This means that there is always a power to authorize with an Open-source software license. In contrast, open source hardware projects are not eligible for copyright protection.

The hardware design may qualify for patent protection. But getting a patent is a longer and more expensive process. Some people may think it's not worth it.

It is too early to know whether there will be a conflict between open source hardware and traditional hardware vendors, he said. Traditional hardware vendors may accuse the Open-source hardware project of infringing patents. But such things have not happened so far.

The use of patents, unlike copyright, does not create defense independently, Weinberg said. Therefore, it is always possible for a patent owner to claim a patent infringement on a project, even if the project does not know the patent.

Upton says Raspberry Pi has no legal concerns about opening its PC platform source code because the organization owns the intellectual property of the platform.

However, the establishment of the Open Source Hardware Association has taken the first step in the right direction. Whether open source hardware vendors will unite around the open source Hardware association remains a problem. However, there are some commitments that need to be made so that there is no difference in hardware level.

Upton said it was a positive development for many reasons. This provides an opportunity for many of those involved.

(Responsible editor: Lu Guang)