---
title: Introduction to Open Hardware
description: In this lesson we aim to introduce people that are not familiarized with open hardware to the subject. We will cover what is specific and unique about open hardware as a practice, where does it come from and practical considerations about getting started with developing open hardware projects. We aim also to cover briefly the specifics of open hardware design, development, distribution and usage. What is unique about it, why it is relevant and powerful.
authors: Jerry de Vos, Jose Urra, Santosh Ilhamparuthi, Andjela Tomic, Jort
version: 1.1
note: revised by Jort
---
# Introduction to Open Hardware
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[](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) [](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7195344)

**Date of release:** August-8-2022

## Overview

In this lesson, we will introduce you to the exciting world of open hardware. If you're new to this concept, don't worry – we'll cover the basics, explore its origins, and provide practical insights into starting your journey in open hardware development. By the end of this lesson, you'll have a solid grasp of open hardware principles and its unique characteristics.

:::info
**By the end of this lesson, you will:**
- Understand fundamental concepts and ideas surrounding open hardware.
- Recognize what makes open source hardware distinct and valuable.
- Feel better prepared to embark on your open hardware projects.

**Learning Objectives:**
- Familiarize yourself with the principles and concepts of open hardware.
- Explore the history of open source and open source engineering.
- Discover the key figures and projects that have shaped the open hardware movement.
- Identify relevant open hardware projects for your interests.
:::

## Introduction

### What is Open Hardware?

Open hardware stands at the intersection of hardware design, development, manufacturing, and distribution, combined with the ethos of the free/libre software movement and the open source software phenomenon. It's about bringing transparency, collaboration, and innovation to the world of physical objects.

:::info
:information_source: During this course, we use two notions: open-source hardware and open hardware for short. As they both carry the same meaning, we prefer the latter due to its conciseness.
:::

### Origins of Open Hardware

The roots of open hardware can be traced back to the convergence of hardware design practices and the principles of open source. Understanding its origins is crucial to appreciating the philosophy behind open hardware.

digraph graphname {
        // Nodes
        S [label="Software", shape=box]
        F [label="Free/libre software movement", shape=box]
		H [label="Hardware", shape=box]
        OSS [label="Open-source software" shape=box]
		OSH [label="Open-source hardware" shape=box]
        // Vertices
        S->OSS
        F->OSS
		H->OSH
        OSS->OSH
}

The figure above summarizes the different aspects that define the term open hardware.

### Open Source Hardware Association (OSHWA)

The [Open Source Hardware Association (OSHWA)](https://www.oshwa.org/) provides a comprehensive [declaration of principles and definitions](https://www.oshwa.org/definition/#:~:text=Open%20source%20hardware%20is%20hardware,for%20making%20modifications%20to%20it.) that offer valuable insights into open hardware. We'll revisit these principles later, but for now, let's establish foundational concepts and definitions for this lesson.

## Hardware Design
Design is a tricky word, as it refers on the one hand to the activity of designing, and, on the other hand, to the outcome of such an activity.

:::info
:information_source: When we talk about hardware design, we're referring to both the process of designing and the resulting product.
:::

### Definition 1: A Hardware Design

A hardware design represents the specific way in which a physical object, artifact, or product is conceived to be produced and used in a particular context to deliver its intended functionality. This concept applies to software development as well.

### Definition 2: Designing Hardware

Designing hardware is the active process that leads to the creation of a hardware design. It's not about the quality or specifics of the product but the journey that produces the end result. Successful open source projects in both software and hardware have shown that good processes lead to good outcomes.

Ineffective hardware design and engineering processes often result in subpar or poorly engineered designs, and in some cases, over-engineered ones. In the following sections, we'll delve into what open-source engineering looks like and explore the principles behind it.

## Sharing hardware design
**Sharing hardware design is sharing know-how** How to share this type of know-how, as compared for example with software?

We know that with software, not only the code and the design is distributed, but also all the tooling that is needed to reproduce, install and run the software.(This includes the descriptions of certain conditions under which the software can run, installation instructions, operating system specifications, minimum resources, architecture and so on).

**In the context of hardware we can only distribute a data package that contains all the data needed to manufacture/replicate the hardware.** This package of resources is the parallel of source code in software. It includes the documentation, CAD/CAM files, schematics, images, etc. As designs evolve over time metadata data is also essential, and this may include aspects such as version, release data, authors, contributors, and so on.

Standards on how to distribute these design data-packages are also becoming more important as more people start to develop, replicate and redesign open hardware projects. [Read more about this here](https://en.oho.wiki/wiki/Technical_documentation)

::: info
In the case of software that is part of the hardware project we distributed as we would distribute software normally.
:::

## Open Source Engineering
Open source is social engineering without boundaries, anyone with the capacity to contribute from anywhere in the world is welcome or able to do so in principle.

**What makes open source engineering special and promising?** In this section we touch upon some aspects that we think are characteristic of open source development and can help you better understand the success behind it.

- What values and principles have propelled the movement?
- What do open source people look like?
- What design considerations are common in open source developments?
- How entire collectives agree, disagree and evolve technological developments?
- How open source initiatives are sustained?
:::info
:bulb: We will touch briefly upon these aspects to give you a start, only to encourage you to keep asking these and other questions as you dive into the open source world.
:::

### Values and principles
Open source development is rooted in the legacy of the [Free Software movement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software_movement). The idea of sharing to advance technological development is key.
(Image from the Free Software Foundation)

In resonance with these values there are other movements that we find interesting and relevant to open source hardware and the openhardware.academy. Some of them include: [Open Science Movement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_science), [Right to repair](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronics_right_to_repair#:~:text=The%20right%20to%20repair%20movement,of%20favouring%20repair%20over%20replacement.), [Appropriate technology movement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appropriate_technology#:~:text=Appropriate%20technology%20is%20a%20movement,environmentally%20sustainable%2C%20and%20locally%20autonomous.), [Open Educational Resource Movement](https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.116.3546).

### Lead users with enginnering expertise
In the modern era, users and consumers know little about how the products they use are designed and how they work. But, in the context of open source great developers are also often experienced lead users. These lead users/innovators have been also able to build something they need, something they have been passionate about and commited to.

Lead user:
> Lead user is a term developed by American economist Eric von Hippel (Von Hippel 1986). His definition for lead user is:
> - Lead users face needs that will be general in a marketplace – but face them months or years before the bulk of that marketplace encounters them, and
> - Lead users are positioned to benefit significantly by obtaining a solution to their needs and so may innovate.
([More on wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_user))

[Limor Fried](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limor_Fried), [Linus Torvalds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linus_Torvalds), [Josef Prusa](https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/interview-josef-prusa-ceo-founder-prusa-research-81650/#:~:text=Josef%20is%20only%2026%20and,on%20the%20Rep%20Rap%20project.), [the Arduino project and team](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arduino#:~:text=The%20Arduino%20project%20began%20in,environment%20using%20sensors%20and%20actuators.), [Guido Van Rossum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guido_van_Rossum), [Richard Stallman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Stallman) among many other influencers and shapers of the open source world have some qualities in common, the can be identified as lead users/innovators. People that build something that they needed and they wanted to see, they cultivated the expertise to achieve their goals.

**The learning here is that having an actual pain or need to solve and some ideas to address them is a good starting point.** Then if you are not the only one confronting this problem there is potentially a larger group of interested stakeholders that could develop into an active community of co-developers and contributors.

### Intelectual property and copyleft
According to Richard Stallman the founder of the Free Software Movement, GNU project and the philosophy behind free software, open sourcing and sharing code was a common practice back in the days. Copyright software, and the locking of software to make profit came after. As a response Stallman initiated a socio-tecnological movement aiming to protect intelectual property where users and creators are at the center.

The concept of **copyleft** reflects this idea:
> Copyleft is the legal technique of granting certain freedoms over copies of copyrighted works with the requirement that the same rights be preserved in derivative works. In this sense, freedoms refers to the use of the work for any purpose, and the ability to modify, copy, share, and redistribute the work, with or without a fee. Licenses which implement copyleft can be used to maintain copyright conditions for works ranging from computer software, to documents, art, scientific discoveries and even certain patents. [Read more...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyleft)

### Open architecture
Open architecture, comes from the context of computer science but goes beyond.
- A computer or other hardware system that uses open architecture is usually constructed in a way so users are able to change, remove or upgrade components within the system.
- An open architecture can refer to a hardware system, network or even software that is able to be extended by users to provide new or expanded functionality.
- When dealing with software, open architecture means that, while a program performs on its own, either the entire source code for the program or a development kit is available so users can rewrite parts of the software or develop plug-ins and extensions to allow the program to perform new tasks. [Read more here...](https://www.easytechjunkie.com/what-is-open-architecture.htm)

**Key concepts:** Interopreability, reusability, compatibility, protocols and standards.

### Progressive development
Succesful open source initiaves tend to grow in number of contributors. This leads to the establishment of participatory rules, collective decision making, leadership and governance. **Progressive development, iterative redesign and evolution is a key feature in these projects.**
- Succesful, mainstream open source projects have evolved together with the community that adopted its technology. There is always a continous process of getting feedback, proposals and contributions from anyone that can do so.
- Projects get more mature once other people start adopting the technology and eventually contributing to it.
- Contributions are diverse and may include tutorials, documentation, as well as funding.
- Adoption of the technonology by other users is essential for healthy initiatives.

### Open source economics and sustainability
- The most valuable resource in open source are the engineers behind the designs. This is because they tend to be passionate and enthusiastic about technological development.
- In open source projects many maintainers and developers volunteer, mostly because they are pursuing their passion when developing and contributing for open source.
- Eventually projects might evolve and develop a sustainable business model or funding scheme, this might become even more critical when it comes to hardware projects.

## The OSHWA definition
> Open source hardware is hardware whose design is made publicly available so that anyone can study, modify, distribute, make, and sell the design or hardware based on that design. The hardware’s source, the design from which it is made, is available in the preferred format for making modifications to it. Ideally, open source hardware uses readily-available components and materials, standard processes, open infrastructure, unrestricted content, and open-source design tools to maximize the ability of individuals to make and use hardware. Open source hardware gives people the freedom to control their technology while sharing knowledge and encouraging commerce through the open exchange of designs.

## Before you get started with your open hardware project
- Technology comes first in open source. Become a tinkerer, be curious and build know-how on a problem you are passionate about.
- Do it because you think is good for the world and yourself all together, don't do it if you don't believe in it, or you simply want to get a commercial product to the market.
- In many open source projects, the commercial aspect follows the technology and problem solving drive.
- Openning up your project has a lot of benefits if you want to focus on developing the technology and getting feedback while doing so.
- Bare in mind that hardware has costs (material costs and labor costs)
- This is why we recommend to start small and focused on the problem and the technology, and progressively build up your project based on the feedback you get.
- Open source can help you to lower the risk and adopt this progressive community feedback.
- Not all useful products are going to be profitable, and not all selling products are good or "useful" for the world
- We encourage you to focus on the use value of your project. This will take you somewhere, it might be the case that there is a big market or small market.
::: info
Some experts suggest to think first on the market before developing the product, we think this is only the case if your goal is to go commercial.
:::
- Making open source your project doesnt make your technology or solution by default good, but it can help you find out this.
- If you understand a problem that can be solved with hardware and you have some basic skills, resources and interest to develop know-how around the technologies and a specific problem you are in a good position. **You don't have to be an engineer to get started.**
- It is good to consider once your project needs to evolve from a prototype design to a mature design to build an interdisicplinary team with experts in whatever field is related to your project (mechanical engineering, software development, electronic, etc.) **At some point you will need to develop either individually or collectively engineering expertise.**
- Many succesfull open source projects have started in Universities and have been funded with public money, **keep in mind that a university is a great place to be in if your focus is on solving a problem with technology.**
- Be prepared to be dissapointed by unethical or unexpected behavior, some people will simply take advantage of what you have done or will not contribute back. This is common in open source, and it is part of its nature.

# Excercises
## Exercise 1: Go through the OSHWA definition
- Read the definitions and principles: [OSHWA definitions](https://www.oshwa.org/definition/)
- Share in the chat which principles you find useful in this document that you think can improve your current practices and why.

:::spoiler **Answer from last year**
**Nemo:** The `License Must Not Restrict Other Hardware or Software` element seems a bit strange to me. On the one hand they promote copy-left ("same terms as the license of the original work"), but then they are opposed to enforcing other degrees over openness. It makes sense practically, but I get the same feeling of 'restriction' with copy-left licenses.
:::
## Exercise 2: Learn from open source projects
- Pick at least one of the many influential projects in open source hardware and get familiar with its history. (There is a list bellow, for example you can pick one software project and one hardware project to compare similarities and differences.)
- Think about the concepts and ideas we provided in this lessons, were you able to spot some of these characteristics in the project you selected?
- Share in the chat what captured your atention about the project
- What did you find different in their approach compared to your idea of how hardware is developed and distributed?
- What did you find familiar to your own practice?

**Some interesting open source projects and initiatives you can google:**

**Hardware**
- Arduino
- RepRap and Prusa 3D printers
- Adafruits company
- Precious plastic
- others...

**Software**
- Python
- Linux and git
- FreeCAD
- OpenSCAD
- others...
:::spoiler **Answer from last year**
**Vincent:** Did a comparison of projects Arduino and Python.
1. Arduino is extensible via add-on boards on the hardware side and libraries on the software side. Python is “designed to be highly extensible via modules”.
2. Python started with one main decision maker, Guido van Rossum, titled BDFL (Benevolent dictator for life). Arduino was started with a group of five people. Python eventually in 2019 “elected a five-member Steering Council to lead the project”. .
3. Arduino has s complicated past with many disputes between its members. Python seems to not have the same complications. This is perhaps to how the project was formed (1 vs a group). the way it was licensed, or hardware versus software.
4. License Python: Python Software Foundation License (PSFL) is a BSD-style, permissive software license which is compatible with the GNU General Public License (GPL)
License Arduino: Hardware products are licensed under a CC BY-SA license, while software is licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) or the GNU General Public License (GPL)
5. Both projects came from a public institution. Python from Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (abbr. CWI; English: "National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science”). The CWI also contributed to the start of many other projects. “The Arduino project began in 2005 as a tool for students at the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea, Italy”.
https://opensource.guide/leadership-and-governance/
:::

## Excercise 3 (Optional): Find an open source project related to your domain
Find out if there are open source projects out there related to your project. You can start with the [open hardware observatory](https://en.oho.wiki/index.php?title=Special%3ARunQuery%2FprojectSearch&pfRunQueryFormName=projectSearch&ProjektSearch%5Bcontains_pdf_drawings%5D=yes&ProjektSearch%5Bsubcat%5D=Bending+machine) where there are lots of open hardware projects.

:::spoiler **Answer from last year**
**Jerry:** Similar to the Plastic Scanner I recently found this: https://caoyuan.scripts.mit.edu/ir_spec.html
:::

## References
[1] “What is open hardware? | Opensource.com.” https://opensource.com/resources/what-open-hardware (accessed Jul. 01, 2022).

[2] “Definition (English) - Open Source Hardware Association.” https://www.oshwa.org/definition/ (accessed Jul. 01, 2022).

[3] “Eric von Hippel | Professor, MIT Sloan School of Management.” https://evhippel.mit.edu/ (accessed Jul. 01, 2022).

[4] “Copyleft,” Wikipedia. Jul. 12, 2022. Accessed: Jul. 29, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Copyleft&oldid=1097759583

[5] “What Is Open Architecture? (with picture),” EasyTechJunkie. http://www.easytechjunkie.com/what-is-open-architecture.htm (accessed Jul. 29, 2022).

[6] “Open-source hardware,” Wikipedia. Jun. 30, 2022. Accessed: Jul. 29, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Open-source_hardware&oldid=1095733253

[7] “OPEN SOURCE HARDWARE BASICS | WIRED.” https://www.wired.com/beyond-the-beyond/2020/05/open-source-hardware-basics/ (accessed Jul. 29, 2022).

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