Slashdot Mirror
The State of Open Source Hardware In 2008
ptorrone writes "MAKE Magazine has put together their 3rd annual 'State of Open Source Hardware 2008' — in just a few years, the number of projects has grown from a small handful to an amazing 60+ offerings. Similar to open source software, open source hardware is available with source code, schematics, firmware and bills of materials, and allows commercial use. The most popular project, Arduino, the open source prototyping platform for artists and engineers, has shipped over 60,000 units."
The article is formatted such that the first link for a particular device will usually take you to the project home page. Some will bring you instead to where you can purchase the items, but most still have a "How To" tab which will direct you to guides and instructions on how to build your own gadgets. There are a bunch of interesting devices, from the Game of Life on the outside of a cube to a home-made MP3 player to OpenMoko.
for the Year Of The Linux Desktop.
(sorry, I couldn't help myself...)
the final sentence to read "The game of life outside the cube"....
Companies, in a never-ending pursuit of getting our money, are only testing the water. If we don't BUY products for Linux these companies will drop us like a hot potato. There is no "open source = freedom" to make-a-buck companies, only bottom lines.
I ordered an Arduino, ethernet shield and some other goop from ladyada. It's to be my winter project plaything. Just my luck, the weather in Winnipeg is rather nice lately thus eliminating my excuse to hide at my workbench.
Trolling is a art,
So what's new with 'open source hardware'?
I work in a semiconductor company and we got lots of designs including schematics board layouts firmware and BOMs, other companies do the same thing.
The point is of course to sell our devices by having customers using our designs, but the point is that there are lots of free designs out there, and they have been made available for many years not just the last few as it has been stated in the article.
of the linux desktop but it sure is the year of open source hardware yay!
Let me know when I can build an OpenMoko handset from parts that I purchase myself. That isn't open...
I can't wait for the 4th annual 'State of Open Source Hardware 2008'!
"The state of Arduino hardware in 2008"
I am waiting for the time we'll have a near perfect Open Source Printer...fully functional with drivers and everything.
If this ever materialize, I will be happy not to have to dole out money firms like HP, DELL and Lexmark that only cater for their bottom line and nothing else.
Am I reasonable to expect this?
no USRP? no opencores? Lame lame lame
Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
It looked like a product catalog to me. This is nothing new. Seriously, where is the MiniMig on this list? The MiniMig is a full open source reimplementation of the Amiga 500.
I read this exact same article the other day. Only at that time, it only listed the Arduino and it's progeny along with a couple of related projects.
In particular, I'm happy to see the x0xb0x make it to the list. The x0x is one piece of open hardware that doesn't nearly get enough attention. It's a perfect clone of the Roland TB-303 analog synthesizer which spawned an entire musical genre and left its impression on electronica in general. The parts list, build instructions, schematics, and board layouts are all open and free and there's an active community supporting and hacking it.
I consider the x0xb0x to be the perfect example of how to successfully translate the ideals of open source software to hardware hacking.
The RepRap is interesting here - not just as an open source hardware project in itself, but in that the ability to easily reproduce arbitrary shaped plastic widgets could make other "open source" hardware a bit less clunky.
In a survey of 100 programmers, 111111 thought that duck-typing was a good idea.
Probably not as practicable, but isn't http://opencores.org/ kinda missing from this list.
Also, a lot of fun to be had with FPGA-based boards (http://www.fpga4fun.com/, http://hackaday.com/2008/05/22/fpga-projects-roundup/)
Bullshit, open source hasn't ruined anything, and it isn't communist, i don't think you know what that word means. When the government forces the people to use Linux you can come back with your communist talk.
It is however a market force, giving users an option they wouldn't have otherwise had, and giving commercial developers yet another thing to compete with, which helps users in the long run.
Microsoft hasn't gone anywhere, they aren't even being threatened on the desktop much, they have more to worry about from Apple than Linux right now.
Intel won't go anywhere either, it takes a LOT of R&D to develop the things Intel does, open spec hardware isn't going to be pushing them aside any time soon.
A good number of these projects are using non-free schematic capture and/or layout packages. What if I want to modify the schematics or layouts? Do I have to redraw them in one of the real free/open source tools?
Eagle is not free software (there is no source code and the "free" download is crippleware since the board size is limited).
PS. Yes I'm slightly bias as I am a developer on gEDA http://geda.seul.org/ and KiCad is nice too. :)
I've done ARM7 development in the past. I've just started a new ARM7 project after a four year hiatus. What seems to have changed the most is the availability of cheap hardware debug tools such as cheap FTDI FT2232 based JTAG pods.
I'm also interested to see what comes of Eclipse's DSDP initiative.
http://www.eclipse.org/dsdp/dsdp-charter.php
I've always thought the Balkanization of the debug hardware was one of the major barriers in the wider circulation of open hardware.
Concerning the Adweebo, I've programmed this chip before using the free download (for Windows) AVR Studio. What an amazing tool. Despite the AVR having a dedicated hardware call stack, this thing can't even display a call stack.
Nor can it display local variables for call frames up the stack. The upshot of this is that if you have a complicated protocol subroutine that calls get_byte() which blocks waiting for the next byte of input from USART or SPI/TWI (as slave), then whenever you break the program (yes, you must break the program for AVR Studio to display *anything*) you'll inevitably end up looking at the local variables of get_byte() which won't be interesting, while all the variables you wish to inspect in the calling routine are unwatchable.
In another nod to genius, whenever you break execution under AVR Studio, it changes focus to the source code tab where the execution happens to break. Even if you just had your cursor on the variable you wished to watch, or the line of code where you wished to add a break point, neither of which can be done while the program is running. Breaking the program changes your view, and then you have to find it again among twenty or so tabs you might have open.
I've never managed to develop much proficiency with GDB. I expect my new project will finally cure that. Generally I write my code so that I don't spend time debugging at that level.
It's nice to see prebuilt packages such as Yagarto where the GDB to random JTAG-of-the-month debug interface is pre-configured, and you're not forced to invest $700 in a "professional" level debug pod to get debug features that we really ought to take for granted in this day and age.
Also, I can't sign off without coughing up a hairball to describe the modalities of the Atmel debugWire interface. Bluuurp. There, that feels better.
Is open-source hardware ever going to be a reality outside of circuit designs and/or designs for odd gizmos that are either in the public domain due to expired patents or have flown under the radar of patent trolls? Can you, for example, apply something like the GPL to "meatspace" hardware, such as an efficient solar heater? I had an idea for a solar heater that could heat water, or potentially other fluids, to temperatures in excess of 1500C, and I had wanted to create a development community for it by open-sourcing it using a license such as the GPL, but we (meaning myself and others interested in the design) instantly ran into problems on the legal front. For one thing, there was the spectre of hidden sandbag patents that we would probably want to/have to pay a high-priced IP lawyer thousands of dollars to find. If such patents did not exist, then there would be the question of whether or not the design would be covered by an existing, expired patent (thereby making it public domain and furthermore off-limits to licenses such as the GPL). And, beyond that, there was the question of whether or not a patent troll would attempt to file for their own sandbag patent regardless of whether or not the device was previously unpatented, patented, or in the public domain due to expired patents. To make a long story short, it sure looked like we would have to patent it ourselves (if possible) before we could open-source it just to prevent anyone else from patenting it. And if we did that, we'd be paying out the nose just for the patent, not to mention any of the lawsuits and other challenges that might arise in the course of defending the patent.
Naturally the design itself has not yet been taken as far as some of the other designs mentioned in TFA; specifically, a prototype has not been built, nor are there instructions (yet) or a bill of parts. A development community sufficiently interested in the project might be able to fill in the blanks, so to speak, and make the design into a more robust product, which would please me greatly.
The greatest fear I (and others prithee to the project) have had is that there appears to be nothing stopping some scrooge from patenting the device and preventing anyone from being able to build or use products based on the design should I simply release the design I have "for free" and let people tinker with it as they please. In fact, there's no way to even compel those who might be interested in the project to release their results to others in the development community should one ever form short of receiving a patent and then applying something like the GPL.
If I wanted to release the design plus notes that might lead to a working prototype, bill of parts, etc. without having to worry about a patent holding firm locking up the design to quash all discussion of the product, much less production of units for personal/internal use or sale, what could I do? I'm not 100% sure that the granting of a sandbag patent would enable the IP troll to stop people from discussing the design or using devices based on the design personally or internally (should a corporation or government agency build units for their own use), but it sure seems likely that said patent troll would be able to halt sales of devices based on the design, which would be pretty disappointing.
Looks great from the product page; classic retro gaming nerds will be excited.
But the limitations are absurd.
240x224 res? Surely they could've made this a standard 256x256.
64KB of ROM/RAM space? Give me a break; it didn't take the original Atari nor the NES long to break that, requiring memory-mapped registers which you could twiddle allowing for swapping pages of memory (simply moves address lines around). Why not remove the addressing space limit entirely? How about 512KB or 1MB of RAM/ROM space? It's not that expensive -- really!
Requires an AVR programmer? Well, not exactly... unless you want to lose 2KBytes of ROM/RAM space due to the bootloader -- which also requires the purchase of a serial-to-USB cable (I love how the site doesn't tell you ANYWHERE that it uses serial as the transmission method). USB on the host (PC) side, by the way.
Transfer method is serial (via USB)? In this day and age: why?! This requires custom software and drivers for Windows, and what guarantee do you have that your host PC's USB controller is decent? FTDI makes excellent USB-serial adapters, no argument there, but why this pain How about using SD cards? Even the RetroUSB NES-games-on-a-cart product uses SD cards. 2GB SD card = US$7.
Next, I read this:
"Now, press the RESET button on the Fuzebox and as fast as you can, hit return so that the command is sent less than 3 seconds after the Fuzebox resets"
Are you kidding me?! What the fuck! This isn't a WRT54GL router with a 3 second window for TFTP firmware transfer! This is an OPEN-SOURCE DEVELOPMENT CONSOLE! Again: what the fuck!
And finally, the most idiotic pixel storage format on earth: RGB encoded into 8 bits, per pixel. Um, that doesn't work out quite right, so how did they deal with it? They gave blue 2 bits of colour. Yes, that's right, 2 shades of blue are all you have.
This is an absurd limitation. How about 8 bits per R/G/B, just like classic PC VGA mode? Or how about 16 bits for each pixel, 4 bits per R/G/B, and use the remaining 4 for things like transparency or pixel effects? Once again, another limit imposed by limited addressing space due to small amounts of memory used in the product.
For how much hype this product gets, it's hardly retro -- because the retro consoles offered significantly more features, and that was 20-30 years ago!
Any such critter out there? Very easy to mix and match and recycle and make an upgradeable and customized desktop, but for laptops it doesn't seem to exist much. The chokepoint seems to be smallish screens, they seem to cost what a brand new cheap laptop cost. The next one seems to be no standard motherboard config. Granted, I haven't googled much at all on this, but seems there should be some projects already running. I checked the article and didn't see anything, open moko looks to be the closest, and that isn't even netbook sized. Is there even a raw laptop chassis with a screen that takes normal video connectors that you could slip an existing mini itx mobo in?
Don't feed the (rather obvious) troll, steveman...
Is Java. You can't use the standard Arduino development software without installing Java. I find pretty awkward for a platform that aims at being small and fast requiring a virtual machine to run its development software.
Any information on development software for the Arduino that does not depend on Java would be hugely welcomed of course.
i missing open source diving computer there http://www.heinrichsweikamp.net/ostc/en/index.htm?project.htm&mainFrame
I just bought the best priced by feature 42 inch lcd 1080p tv. In my opinion the hardware manufactures that use open source are in a very good position to keep prices on hardware reasonable. This LG tv uses kernel 2.6.12 in an embedded situation and can be reflashed and tweeked by either a usb or rs232c null modem. The source of the firmware is also available to the consumer and the access software is also available. So because it is open source I can do all the technical service of my own TV if it ever becomes necessary. I can clearly see the advantages to the tech savy consumer in open source firmware!
This message was not sent from an iPhone because Peter Sellers really was a deviated prevert without a dime for the call
My interest is in merely open hardware. That is, I want hardware I can use with my open source software. If the hardware is sealed, that's probably fine by me. But all OS components need to be open source (that means drivers and loadable blobs). This would apply to both attachable devices as well as whole systems (such as a phone).
That said, open source hardware is a plus, since that means there can be competition in the manufacturing processes.
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
Who the heck wants to compete with slaves producing $0 software? They are destroying the market.
You mean, the short run. In the long run, there will be smaller market for paid software. So there will be much fewer software vendors resulting in fewer products, less competition, reduced innovation and fewer choices. Sure, software will be free, but since there is no market for innovation, nobody will waste years of their lives creating a $0 product. Therefore, users will have to make do with ancient, slowly innovating software.
Big surprise, it's hard to kill big fish! However, many small fish, like small software vendors and shareware authors have been slaughtered.
I didn't see the open graphics card listed. They're solving the missing driver/card specs problem by creating the card by themselves. And they seem to have something to pre-order too (a bit expensive debug board).
http://wiki.opengraphics.org/tiki-index.php
Stuff like the Open Moko... It's expensive, not well designed and horribly lacking in features. I can't even build it myself. When Windows mobile and Android have a lot of leeway with software development, there's little reason for the handset.
Likewise stuff like MP3 players. I can buy a 1gig player from Tescos for £7 if I want a low quality player. It does have the building element but frankly, I'd get as much fun out of modifying an existing player. Would be less likely to fry components or even cause a battery to blow up due to my poor electronic skills.
What we need are people to find gaps in the market. How about designs for an ARM based media centre that can cope with HD output. Currently the only HD Media player around under £100 is the Western Digital one. Rather than looking for markets where there are endless solutions for hardware enthusiasts to tweak, give them a chance to get a product they otherwise wouldn't be able to get for that money.
The problem is not open source hardware, it is open source hardware design and verification languages.
I don't know of anyone using icarus verilog for a large ASIC, large chips need commercial proprietary verilog compilers and simulators such as Synopsys VCS or Cadence's equivalent.
QA in hardware is also a major problem, unlike software which can simply release a patch, hardware must be near perfection by the time it is released (you can't patch or "upgrade" hardware in the field). Again, finding a commercial grade compiler and simulator for hardware verification is, well, I haven't found anything yet (eg free compiler/simulator for Specman E and Vera anyone?).
I wanted to inform you about the new Internet project named openECGproject.
The openECGproject is essentially an online community conceived around a simple, but challenging and worthy goal - to develop an open source hardware and software solution for electrocardiography. More precisely, to develop an open source, free, low cost, and clinically functional 12-lead PC-based ECG with interpretive software.
The idea was conceived to help those hospitals and doctors, mainly from the Third World, who cannot afford similar currently available and expensive commercial products. Development of a free alternative could, I believe, have a profound impact on health care not just in poor countries, but in others too.
The whole project is philanthropic and depends on the efforts of volunteers who want to make a difference. Anyone can help, so be sure to visit the site, http://www.open-ecg-project.org, your expertise would be very helpful.
Thank you.
Kind regards,
Ivor Kovic, M.D.