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Open Source Hardware, For Fun and For Profit

Posted by timothy on from the make-it-so dept.

ptorrone writes "Lots of open source hardware articles making the rounds this week, first up — Wired has an excellent piece on the Arduino project, an open source electronics prototyping platform, its founders and business model (they have sold over 50,000 units). And next up MIT's Tech Review has a profile on a few open source hardware businesses including NYC based Adafruit Industries best known for projects like the open source synth (x0x0b0x) and 'fun' projects like the Wave Bubble, the open source cell phone/wifi/GPS/RF jammer."

40 of 122 comments (clear)

  1. Yes 'fun'... by abigsmurf · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Radio Jammers are most definately not fun. It's bad enough the ones that send out a burst designed to disconnect phonecalls but one that's designed to run for 2-4 hours...

    If someone on a cell phone is annoying you, ask them to keep it down or turn it off. Don't potentially block a call that may be to (or from) the emergency services or another life or death communication. There's a reason jammers carry stiff penalties in most Western countries.

    1. Re:Yes 'fun'... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Don't potentially block a call that may be to (or from) the emergency services or another life or death communication.

      It's remarkable that the world managed to function at all before the age of cellular communication.

    2. Re:Yes 'fun'... by Tuoqui · · Score: 2, Funny

      Gimme a cell phone jammer so I can use it while driving. That way assholes around me will get off their phones and pay attention to the road.

      --
      09F911029D74E35BD84156C5635688C0
      +2 Troll is Slashdot's way of saying groupthink is confused
    3. Re:Yes 'fun'... by zacronos · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Don't potentially block a call that may be to (or from) the emergency services or another life or death communication.

      It's remarkable that the world managed to function at all before the age of cellular communication.

      It's remarkable that the world managed to function at all before the age of modern medicine.

      Just because humanity survived through it doesn't mean it is responsible or ethical to strip it away in circumstances when you don't understand the consequences.

      The truth is, people before modern medicine might stand a better chance of dealing with a given health issue because they knew folk remedies which may have helped (though they didn't always help, they were rarely harmful). Today, most of us have an almost total lack of ability to deal with major health issues without modern medicine. The same is true with cellular communication -- people were fine without it at the time, but they (we) have grown fairly dependent on it today. Take it away unexpectedly, and they're worse off than when it didn't exist.

      Note that I don't say this as if it were a good thing -- I think it's a horrible thing. But that doesn't make it any less true.

    4. Re:Yes 'fun'... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's remarkable that the world managed to function at all before the age of cellular communication.

      I'm sure that people were saying the same thing about land lines when telephone poles/wires started cluttering up the scenery.
      While jamming cell frequencies in a local area is not the same as chopping down a telephone pole it's still illegal in most places.

      Cell phones are here to stay, it's the people not the technology that is causing the problem.

    5. Re:Yes 'fun'... by iamdrscience · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Anytime the Wavebubble comes up, somebody brings out the argument that it could potentially block a call to Emergency services, but really this isn't a very realistic scenario. The Wavebubble really has a pretty limited range, from the project page: Effective range is approximately 20' radius with well-tuned antennas". That's a small enough area that to anybody within range it would just appear like a small dead spot in coverage and just like a regular deadspot, they'd probably walk around a little bit until they got service. It doesn't impede emergency access any more than standing on the wrong side of a building might. Furthermore, a 20 foot radius is small enough that if there is somebody nearby needing emergency services, you can almost certainly see them and help out yourself.

      If someone on a cell phone is annoying you, ask them to keep it down or turn it off.

      I work in a retail store and people are constantly coming up to the counter talking on their cellphones, oblivious to how rude it is to the people around them and how often it inconveniences other customers (customers talking on their phones generally will not be paying close attention to the transaction or myself, causing the sale to take longer). I can understand and agree with why cell-jammers are illegal, but still, everytime a particularly obnoxious customer comes up to the register on their cellphone, it's hard for me to avoid thinking about building a Wavebubble. What's stopped me thus far is that I really doubt it would do any good -- if I cut off their signal they're just going to try to redial whoever they were talking to, as distracted as ever.

    6. Re:Yes 'fun'... by ArhcAngel · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Gimme a cell phone jammer so I can use it while driving. That way assholes around me will get off their phones and pay attention to the road.

      You, kind sir, are an optimist. Given your scenario I would break it down thusly:

      1) 50% (the xx variety) will just keep yappin because they never stop talking long enough to realize the call dropped.
      2) 20% will wildly shake their communication device in an attempt "squeeze" out more signal.
      3) 15% will beat the device within an inch of it's life swerving across lanes while beating their head against the steering wheel. (It's not so bad since I got that leather wrapped steering wheel)
      4) 10% miscellaneous teeth grinding, nail biting, anxiety driven rage, etc., etc.
      5) 5% will actually put their phones down and begin to drive.

      --
      "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
    7. Re:Yes 'fun'... by SQLGuru · · Score: 2

      I was pretty sure that the point of whitespace was to broadcast BETWEEN the channels and not on top of them.....

      Layne

    8. Re:Yes 'fun'... by Restil · · Score: 2, Insightful

      But I don't want to be a farmer, plowing fields with rocks, hoping to save enough extra to survive the winter, and hoping I don't catch some fatal disease so I can live until I'm at least into my 40s.

      Yes, I could live without it if I had to. But I don't want to, and I'm guessing that nobody else wants to either. We can't go back, and we can't stay where we are, so we only go forward.

      But if it will put your mind at ease, you can be contented in the fact that 10 years from now, there will likely be some new electronic gadget that nobody can live without which will annoy us far worse than cellphones or ipods ever did.

      --
      Play with my webcams and lights here
  2. Sweet! by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 5, Funny

    Open Source Kelly LeBrock Bot, here I come!

    --
    My blog
  3. Links by RAMMS+EIN · · Score: 4, Informative

    I felt these links should be in this thread:

    OPENCORES.ORG
    Open Hardware
    OpenSPARC
    The Wikipedia article on Open-Source Hardware, with many more links

    --
    Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
    1. Re:Links by korbin_dallas · · Score: 2, Informative

      Also:

      FreePCB, http://www.freepcb.com/
      Why use Eagle, its not free?

      Sparkfun has Eagle footprints for their parts incl Arduino, BUT those footprints are copyrighted by Sparkfun AND they clearly spell out that they are not for use with any commercial products. WTF?

      So I used FreePCB. It worked just fine, made very nice Gerber files which I sent here, http://www.eiconnect.com/ in Illinois. Fine PCBs made by Americans.

      --
      They Live, We Sleep
  4. Freely programmable hardware is more important by BhaKi · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It seems really crazy that more people are fighting for "hardware whose internal design is known" than for "hardware whose programming documentation is known".

    --
    The largest prime factor of my UID is 263267.
  5. Good timing by grub · · Score: 2, Funny


    I recently received my Arduino kit with Ethernet shield. Haven't touched the soldering iron yet, that's probably this weekend's fun[0]. It's a really cool project and cheaper than the Basic Stamp to get going.

    [0] "Your family is out of town, you're in bachelor more and this is what you do for fun?!"
    Yeah yeah :)

    --
    Trolling is a art,
  6. One that's been sadly ignored in tech circles by FridgeFreezer · · Score: 5, Interesting

    For the past 5 years I've been running my cars on open-source engine management hardware, firmware and software.

    www.megasquirt.info

    Given the potential benefits, financial, technological, and environmental, I'm surprised more people aren't interested in it. The project is actually pushing as close to the edge as some of the high end EMS from big car manufacturers.

    --
    There is no music - home taping killed it.
    1. Re:One that's been sadly ignored in tech circles by electrosoccertux · · Score: 3, Funny

      For the past 5 years I've been running my cars on open-source engine management hardware, firmware and software.

      www.megasquirt.info

      Given the potential benefits, financial, technological, and environmental, I'm surprised more people aren't interested in it. The project is actually pushing as close to the edge as some of the high end EMS from big car manufacturers.

      While I appreciate the offer, I think I will wait until I am not on a work computer to I visit that link of yours. No err, hard feelings.

  7. Don't forget Arduino! by YA_Python_dev · · Score: 4, Informative

    Don't forget the Arduino official homepage.

    It's simple, very hackable, Mac- and Linux-compatible and it's a true free/open source design, so they don't have a monopoly on it and you can buy compatible boards from other sources or DIY!

    --
    There's a hidden treasure in Python 3.x: __prepare__()
    1. Re:Don't forget Arduino! by JustKidding · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Arduino is nice as an introduction to microcontrollers, but there isn't a whole lot worth protecting in the first place; it's a microcontroller with an USB UART, a crystal and voltage regulator. There is nothing novel about the design, it's all copied from the reference designs in the datasheets. The board is nothing any remotely competent electrical engineer couldn't design in a couple of hours.

      The Wired article makes it sound like it's a huge advancement in electrical engineering, and they're giving it away!

    2. Re:Don't forget Arduino! by Bassman59 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Arduino is nice as an introduction to microcontrollers, but there isn't a whole lot worth protecting in the first place; it's a microcontroller with an USB UART, a crystal and voltage regulator. There is nothing novel about the design, it's all copied from the reference designs in the datasheets. The board is nothing any remotely competent electrical engineer couldn't design in a couple of hours.

      The Wired article makes it sound like it's a huge advancement in electrical engineering, and they're giving it away!

      Wish I had mod points ... this post sums up exactly how I feel about the whole Arduino thing.

      I stopped reading Make because they just won't stop creaming their pants over Arduino. Yawn.

    3. Re:Don't forget Arduino! by ptorrone · · Score: 2, Insightful

      hi, it's phill from MAKE - we cover and celebrate what *makers* are doing, over 50,000 sales of arduinos means a lot of people are doing projects and sharing them.

      that said, we do feature articles on basic stamp and we had a huge article on the parallax propeller chip, picaxe, you name it. it's more about what folks are making more than a chip.

      if you don't like arduino because it's simple and there's "nothing to it" that's likely the reason it's so popular and it's good to see so many people from all walks of life and skill sets getting in to electronics.

  8. Re:Handy for terrorism, kidnapping, piracy, etc. by sukotto · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The next time I grab a 15-year-old girl to rape and kill her ...

    I'm all for freedom of speech, but could we exercise a little self-control over what we say and publish?

    Oh the irony....

    --
    Come play free flash games on Kongregate!
  9. Re:Open "source" hardware by iamdrscience · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Depends on the project. In the case of projects like OpenCores the term "open source hardware" is very apt because the project consists of Verilog and VHDL files which are essentially programming languages (similar in many ways to C and Pascal) which are compiled as hardware designs for chips instead of programs. For other projects, it's a little more abstract, but still fitting, I think. I mean, open source software is software that provides with all the files you need to build a program yourself and allows you to modify them to suit your needs. An open source hardware project would generally provide the same thing, but instead of source code, it's schematics and board layouts.

  10. Re:Open "source" hardware by bitrex · · Score: 2, Interesting

    "Open design hardware" sounds pretty much right. Is it possible to get the Verilog code that describes the operation of say the FTDI USB/Serial chip? Nope. Will a semiconductor manufacturer tell you what really goes on inside the STA013 Mp3 decoder chip that a lot of "open source" Mp3 player projects use? No way! But so long as you're OK with looking at many integrated circuits as abstract building blocks, then essentially any product you can find schematics for or take the time to trace out a circuit of is open source. I still think projects like the ones mentioned are fantastic though, as component selection and construction are well thought out with the hobbyist in mind, and like the x0xb0x fill a niche market (a re-engineering of a defunct product) or the WaveBubble (which no consumer electronics company would touch).

  11. Re:Handy for terrorism, kidnapping, piracy, etc. by MrNaz · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I agree. Please run for president and I shall vote for you so you can establish a Ministry of Acceptability that ensures that people only do and say things that are in line with your definition of peace and safety.

    --
    I hate printers.
  12. Re:Handy for terrorism, kidnapping, piracy, etc. by Ann+Coulter · · Score: 2, Funny

    If it becomes a crime to have radio frequency jamming equipment then only criminals will have radio frequency jamming equipment.

  13. x0x0b0x Project Rocks! by six025 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This is a particularly useful project for electronic musicians and synth geeks. The famous Roland TB-303 - whatever you might think of the sound - is to dance music as guitars are to rock music. The real deal is prohibitively expensive for most people these days if you can find one for sale.

    The designer (?) of this exact replica has made the real analogue sound available to anyone that with half a brain and a light wallet. You can build it your self which might then inspire someone to build other instruments that extend on the original, and the design is now open forever.

    The sound you get out of it is about as close to the original as possible - it's been notoriously difficult to copy and many people have failed in the past - even Roland!!

    This x0x0b0x just fantastic work. Respect!!

    Peace,
    Andy.

  14. Re:Handy for terrorism, kidnapping, piracy, etc. by theaveng · · Score: 2, Informative

    >>>The next time I grab a 15-year-old girl to rape and kill her....... I'm all for freedom of speech, but could we exercise a little self-control over what we say and publish?
    >>>

    Well if that girl were carrying a gun, it wouldn't matter if you jammed her cellphone. She'd be teaching you a lesson about the God-given right to self-defense of her body, as she blasts a hole through your chest.

    Rapists don't deserve to live, and it is because of the existence of rapists/thieves/et cetera that human beings need to be able to defend themselves. I once defended my girlfriend against a similar creep in Philadelphia. She'd probably be dead today if I had not aimed my gun at his head. I never seen anybody run so fast.

    Cellphones are a joke. By the time the police show-up, you're already raped. Better to be packing heat.

    --
    FOX NEWS.com should be BANNED from television and internet. Have the Congress take it over and give us Truespeak.
  15. Counterproductive. by camperdave · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You'll only make things worse. People will start fiddling with their cell phone to try to figure out why it just stopped working. They'll try redialling. They'll be looking at their screens to check the signal, etc. You'll draw even more of their attention away from the road and onto their phone.

    --
    When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
  16. Re:Mico32 by Thijs+van+As · · Score: 2, Informative

    For my MSc graduation project I designed and implemented an open source reconfigurable VLIW processor: r-VEX (http://r-vex.googlecode.com/). It is based around the scalable and extensible VEX Instruction Set Architecture by HP, for which a free C compiler and simulator are available.

    My implementation is merely targeted for VLIW processor research; it is a highly customizable design where the instruction issue-width, the number of registers and the number of functional units can be easily changed. Even custom instructions are supported (as well in the compiler toolchain).

  17. Open Computer? by starseeker · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Has anyone ever considered putting the available pieces out there together and seeing what we still need to achieve a fully open computer? It's expected it will be slow by modern standards but a completely open PC would be nice.

    --
    "I object to doing things that computers can do." -- Olin Shivers, lispers.org
  18. Another Link by DaveAtFraud · · Score: 3, Informative

    If you want to actually do some good and contribute something constructive, I'd suggest The Open Prosthesis Project. There's an excellent write up on the project in both the treeware and on-line editions of Scientific American.

    Cheers,
    Dave

    --
    They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither safety nor liberty.
    Ben
  19. Jammers are good by germ65 · · Score: 2

    I reserve the right to jam cell phones in my property. If I had an establishment like a concert hall, auditorium, movie theater, etc., I would install cell phones jammers. Jammers should not carry any penalty.

  20. I'm waiting .... by PPH · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... for A.Q. Khan to post his blueprints online.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  21. lets not get our panties in an uproar by hierophanta · · Score: 2, Interesting
    first few FAQs from their site

    I would like to buy a wavebubble from you, will you sell me one? No

    I will pay you $500!!! No

    Do you sell a kit? No

    Will you build me one? No

    Why not? It's illegal & I'm not keen on getting fined by the FCC so that you can impress your friends

    http://www.ladyada.net/make/wavebubble/faq.html

  22. Arduino EAGLE/Gerber files and name are NOT free by SuperBanana · · Score: 3, Informative

    and it's a true free/open source design, so they don't have a monopoly on it and you can buy compatible boards from other sources or DIY!

    Actually, it's not an open-source design; Arduino is an actively protected trademark and they do control who manufactures it, because they won't release the files necessary to manufacture the circuit board. Without them, you cannot (easily) make a compatible board; you have to reverse-engineer it. Which is precisely what some people, fed up with not being able to make their own Arduino boards, went and did.

    Freeduino, *is* actually free and open-source (and compatible) and they have specifically said that people are welcome to use the Freeduino name.

    All Arduino proves is that people will slap "free" and "open source" on just about anything, and there's no shortage of people who will parrot it.

    Also, I'm getting really fucking tired of LadyAda's antisocial, illegal devices. Her "TV-b-gone" redefines arrogance, and the jammers are *completely* illegal (funny how you all will get ripshit about data-over-powerlines interfering with your precious HAM hobby, but this device is completely ok?) Wouldn't be the first time she's gotten in trouble with 'the law'- when she was at MIT, she put a device in a parking garage which MIT campus police (used to dealing with all sorts of weird projects and devices) treated as a bomb, and she was punished by the dean for it.

    --
    Please help metamoderate.
  23. Re:Funny, it worked for the Soviets. by Mr.+Firewall · · Score: 2, Informative

    Funny, it worked for the Soviets

    ... and something like fifty million people died.

    Funny, it worked for the Nazis too. And the Cambodians. And a number of other dictatorships.

    Over one hundred million people died in the 20th Century alone because of gun control.

    Sorry, but it's NOT funny.

    --
    In times of universal deceit, telling the truth gets you modded -1 Troll
  24. OBDuino by Frederic54 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I am working on the OBDuino, it's an OBD reader based on an Arduino board. Add an LCD, 3 buttons, an OBD interface (current one based on the ELM327), and you can display instant fuel consumption, average on trip or tank, speed, RPM, various temperature, read MIL code, clear them etc.

    Programming the Arduino is very easy as you do it in C and upload through a serial port or USB. You can also develop/compile in Minsys and upload with a parallel programmer, etc.

    See the wiki on the OBDuino
    http://code.google.com/p/opengauge/wiki/OBDuino

    --
    "Science will win because it works." - Stephen Hawking
  25. Re:Arduino EAGLE/Gerber files and name are NOT fre by ptorrone · · Score: 4, Informative

    hey superbanana - i'm phil from MAKE i submitted the story and what you're saying is not accurate. i'll do my best to address your comments.

    1. Arduinio is open source, anyone can make them and they released all the files. just check the site you'll see all the downloads, if you can't find them email me.

    2. the *name* is trademarked, this is likely the confusion. you can make Arduino clones all you want in china, you just can't call them Arduino. just like you can make other versions of Firefox but you can't call yours Firefox.

    3. as far as ladyada goes, the art project you're referring to at MIT never got her punished or "in trouble with the law".

    4. lastly, the tv-b-gone is also used to turn TVs on, that's how it works.

  26. Trotting out reprap-relevant stuff again by gringer · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The RepRap is able to use an Arduino board, but the RepRap Research Foundation have recently developed a modified variant called the Sanguino. That Sanguino link shows some differences between the two board designs.

    --
    Ask me about repetitive DNA
  27. Open Hardware for the Poor by steve_song · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Open Hardware can make a difference in the developing world. http://manypossibilities.net/2008/08/open-hardware-for-development/ Stand by for the Mesh Potato http://www.rowetel.com/blog/?p=70