About Open Hardware
What is Do it Yourself, Open Hardware and Open Source Hardware?
Do it Yourself refers to the handicraft production of products by private individuals or smaller groups, usually without a commercial background.
The term "open (source) hardware" is based on the term "open (source) software" and refers to technical developments and inventions that are not protected by companies through patents or other protective rights. The developers are often individuals, non-profit organizations, or small businesses who make their knowledge freely available to others.
Open hardware and open-source hardware are often used as synonyms, although open-source hardware usually uses stricter criteria. According to the Open Source Hardware Association (OSHWA) definition, open-source hardware (OSH) is "hardware whose blueprints have been made publicly available so that anyone can study, modify, redistribute, and make and sell it and hardware based on it".
The four essential requirements for open-source hardware are:
- Use: Anyone can use it
- Understand: All the important information to be able to understand it must be available.
- Distribute: Anyone can distribute it
- Improve: Anyone can improve it
In order to fulfill these requirements, complete technical documentation is necessary, because without it, points 2-4 cannot be fulfilled. The technical documentation usually consists of:
- CAD files
- Technical drawings, e.g. in PDF format
- Parts lists
- Optional: Documentation of electrical and electronic components
- Optional: software
Open source hardware compared to open source software
In open-source software projects, the product and the documentation are identical: the program code is both the end product and the common international language for documentation and communication between developers. The documentation requires only a minor additional investment of time. This is why a large worldwide community has developed in a relatively short time and why open source software is also very successful from an economic point of view.
In open-source hardware projects, product and documentation are two different things: The realization of an open-source hardware project requires craftsmanship, material input, and a workshop. The documentation of an open-source hardware project requires a CAD workstation as well as knowledge and experience in CAD systems. However, only a small proportion of OSH developers have the knowledge and experience of the latter, even these often cannot afford the relatively high additional workload for clean documentation.
This is an important reason why open-source hardware, in contrast to open source software, does not (yet) play a really relevant role socially and economically.
Significance of open source software
Open-source software now dominates many market segments, such as:
- Apache for web servers
- Linux with its distributions as server operating systems
- WordPress as CMS and for blogs
- The CMS classics Typo3, Drupal, and Joomla
- PHP as a programming language for web servers
- etc. etc.
Significance of open source hardware
In contrast, open-source hardware has only a few "lighthouse projects", which have virtually no influence on society as a whole, for example
- Arduino
- 3D printers such as RepRap
- Laser Cutter Lasersaur
- Tabby OSVehicle
- Prosthetic Hands by OpenBionics'
- Wikihouse
There are a few important reasons for this.
Was sind die Probleme von Open Source Hardware?
Für die fehlende Bedeutung von Open Source Hardware gibt es mehrere Gründe:
Problem 1: Dokumentation
Die meisten Open Source Hardware oder DIY-Projekte sind gar nicht oder nur unvollständig dokumentiert. Eine vollständige Dokumentation einer technischen Lösung umfasst z.B. CAD-Dateien, technische Zeichnungen, Stücklisten etc. Die Erstellung dieser Unterlagen ist zeitaufwändig und erfordert teilweise auch Spezialkenntnisse, zum Beispiel in CAD-Systemen. Deshalb wird sie in nicht kommerziellen Projekten häufig vernachlässigt. Eine fehlende Dokumentation bewirkt jedoch, dass die Projekte von anderen Menschen weder genutzt, noch nachgebaut, noch weiterentwickelt werden können. Es entstehen keine Synergie-Effekte, die unterschiedlichen Entwicklungen können nicht einander vernetzt werden oder aufeinander aufbauen.
Problem 2: Lizenzierung und Urheberrecht
Die Anzahl an Do it Yourself Projekten übersteigt die Anzahl an Open Hardware Projekten um ein Vielfaches. Viele gute Projekte sind nicht unter freien Lizenzen veröffentlicht, die es anderen Menschen ermöglichen die Projekte frei zu nutzen und weiter zu entwickeln.
Problem 3: Bekanntmachung:
OSH- und DIY-Projekte werden häufig auf kleinen unbekannten Websites in nur einer Sprache veröffentlicht. Für Interessenten, die in anderen Sprachen suchen, sind sie unauffindbar, auch weil bisweilen wenig treffende Suchbegriffe verwendet werden. Dadurch werden sie häufig nur von einem kleinen Teil der potentiellen Interessnet gefunden.