Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Benefits for the Designers and Customers
Open source hardware facilitates inventors, manufacturers, academics, and corporations in
innovatingtogether.Inventorsbenefitfromreleasing technologythroughopensourcehard-
ware by achieving crowd-sourced development, formation of online centralized knowledge
hubs, and massive citizen-driven data sets. Entrepreneurs also benefit from getting their
names publicized when they specify licenses for their work that require attribution for all
derivatives.
The consumer benefits from the empowerment of user-driven innovation through test-
ing, alteration, and iteration upon the product. The resulting competition within the free
market opens up a wider market for derivative products and modular tools in different it-
erations, which in turn promotes healthy competition and free flowing of ideas that
spawns further innovation. For more benefits and discussion of business practices, refer to
Chapter 15
,
Business
.
This simultaneous cross-development of technology across multiple
sectors (
Figure 10.1
), facilitated by the sharing of information, creates a network of simul-
taneous innovation among local communities, hobbyists, corporations, government, and
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
(Source: Image Public Domain by Cesar Harada)
Figure 10.1
The network of innovation that open source hardware facilitates through
cross-disciplinary collaboration between various sectors of academia, government, cor-
porations, and civilians.
