"Open source" isn't just a methodology for developing software. It's a way to think about building anything, including the devices that utilize that software. Hardware, too, can be open—easily copied, shared, modified, and improved.
What would the world be like if the objects that surround us became less mysterious, if not only the bits but also the bolts became something into which we could peer? What if the enigmatic black boxes that occupy our desks, our homes, our skies—even our bodies—suddenly became transparent?
During Open Hardware Week at Opensource.com, we asked more than a dozen open-minded technologists to explain how applying open source principles to physical devices is shaping the way we work and play—now and in the future. They answered with so many wonderful things: flashlights made from lip balm, automated pet feeders, computerized guitar pedals, even 3D-printed prosthetics. And for a few dazzling days, we saw how that open world was becoming a reality.
This book collects stories we published as part of Open Hardware Week.
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Copyright © 2014 Red Hat, Inc. All written content licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Articles in this eBook
- Makers are the new industrial revolution
—Luis Ibáñez, Kitware - Crew assembles three open source vehicles over lunch
—Michael Harrison, Red Hat - The past year for Joomla! Framework
—Joomla! - The easiest way to turn your app idea into an appliance
—Jen Wike, Red Hat - A 3D printed hand brings the crowd to their feet
—Peregrine Hawthorn, e-NABLE - Ellie the robot is ready to compete
—Lauren Egts, student - Has open hardware finally made its big splash?
—Jason Hibbets (Red Hat) interviews Chris Clark (SparkFun Electronics) - Try your hand at these open hardware projects for beginners
—Michael Harrison, Red Hat - 7 favorite Raspberry Pi projects
—Ruth Suehle, Red Hat - TinyCircuits for big projects with small open hardware needs
—Dave Egts and Gunnar Hellekson, podcasters - pedalSHIELD designed using the open source tool KiCad
—JR, electrosmash - Testing and tinkering with the Arduino Starter Pack
—Luis Ibáñez, Kitware - Small group of makers transforms a big idea into a community of users
—Jen Wike, Red Hat - Going to the extreme to make 3D printers open source
—Ginny Skalski, Red Hat - Six open electronics littleBits community projects
—littleBits - Book of fun and easy electronics projects
—Michael Harrison, Red Hat - Open source hardware takes flight
—Jason Baker, Red Hat
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License.