[Discuss] Open Source Lab, with forward by Alicia Gibb

[Matt Maier]

Dr. Pearce is putting out a book about how to create a science lab with
open source hardware.
http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2013/november/story99310.html

This is the forward by Alicia Gibb:

"At the heart of open-source hardware is the freedom of information. We are
inherently free to open our devices as we wish and poke around. There are
no laws inhibiting a consumer to unscrew their household items and take the
lid off—though it most likely voids the warranty. But the freedom to
repair, freedom to study, and freedom to understand needs to be accompanied
with a freedom of accessible information: schematics, diagrams, code, and
in short source files. Open-source hardware includes the previous freedoms
and also grants the freedom to remix, remanufacture and resell an item,
provided that the hardware remains open source. History points to a
multitude of repair manuals from cars to washing machines; patterns to
follow from model airplanes to dresses; and recipes shared through friends
and families for generations. Historically DIY (Do-It-Yourself) was not a
fad but a way of life. Access to information coupled with a basic knowledge
of tinkering has given consumers the power to fix more, waste less, and
understand the physical world around them. But technologies are becoming
more opaque, as their size gets smaller, making them more difficult to open
and tinker. Historically, an important factor for understanding the
physical world was that items were built on a human scale.Human scale is
the one that humans can relate to and can visibly see with the naked eye.
The scale of most objects previous to computing has been on the human
scale. Items in our daily lives now include minuscule chip sets and tiny
form factors that require schematics and code to diagnose, repair,or even
understand. Perhaps no one understands this better than researchers
themselves. With closed source and patented devices, there is no
requirement to include source files so that people may understand the
hardware. In many cases, steps are taken to obfuscate information from the
consumer. In addition to documentation, many new inventions require special
equipment and tools, such as laser cutters, PCR machines for DNA
sequencing, environmental chambers and other lab equipment described in
Pearce’s work. These tools are beginning to see open source versions so
that consumers may build their own, often at a lower cost. Even more
standard tools, such as tractors and CNC machines are being open sourced so
that others may have the benefit of access to these basic tools. If history
has favored open source, why are we entering a new movement of open-source
hardware? Patents have become problematic to innovation. Basic building
blocks of new technologies are being closed off with patents, causing
further innovation to become increasingly expensive or halt altogether.
While patenting the building blocks of technology may benefit one company,
it fails to advance society. Today Intellectual Property can be sold as a
good. The idea  is the commodity rather than the physical object itself.
Selling ideas rather than goods does not create a sustainable market for
the common consumer. Patents were created to incentivize inventors and spur
innovation in exchange for 20 years of exclusive rights in the form of a
monopoly. The patentee had to submit a prototype and disclose how their
innovation was created to the public. But the rules on patents have changed
over time and there are many schools of thought that the patent system is
broken and no longer reflects the reasons why the patent system was created
in the first place. In today’s patent system, prototypes are no longer
required, money made from patents is going to lawyers rather than the
inventor, and a 20 years monopoly is not a rational time frame for the pace
of technology in the digital era. Inventors are finding different
incentives to innovate. The barriers and frustrations the patent system,
has created are turning inventors toward a new alternative to patents:
open-source hardware. Open-source hardware creates products driven by
capitalism rather than monopolies, an open environment for sharing
information, and a powerful opportunity for companies and individuals to
learn from each other. Open-source hardware is a growing movement with a
lucrative business model. It has spread into many areas of innovation, as
Pearce has done with his work in scientific hardware, others do in
electronics, mechanical designs, space programs, farm equipment, fashion,
and materials science to name a few. We are at a crucial point in the
history of technology which will determine if we hoard information or share
it with others; sell information or sell goods; educate with open
documentation or let everyone reinvent the wheel for themselves."
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