Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
(Source: Images [a and b] CC-BY-SA Rob Andrews)
Figure 16.2
(a) A digital photograph of the Open Solar Outdoors Test Field, which is a
project used to measure solar photovoltaic system performance. (b) A wiring diagram
showing a single circuit (of more than 100) of the data acquisition system for measuring
solar photovoltaic module output, which represents some of the “source” associated with
the open source hardware project.
The OSOTF partners were willing to overcome the challenges of doing open source re-
search because they saw value in having free access to critical research data that would be
useful for product improvement, more reliable predictions of performance for funding,
and reductions in solar electric system losses. It is clear from the number of collaborators
that contacted the group that many of the partners would never have known about the pro-
ject without the open source hardware research approach. In addition, the coverage assis-
ted in attracting high-quality
domestic
graduate student researchers.
12
12
.
Domestic graduate students in the science and engineering fields are becoming an endangered spe-
cies.
Virtuous Cycle
If more academics used an open source hardware approach, the benefits would scale and
everyone would benefit even more than they do now. In a vibrant and well-populated open
source research community, developing research hardware in every discipline would be-
come a community affair and not the primary work of a single group, as it is most com-
monly accomplished now. In many fields, custom equipment designs, methods, and soft-
ware are kept private to an institution or research group. If these elements were provided
openly in some form of website, via a wiki protocol or “instructable,” the benefits for all in
the particular field would be greatly enhanced.
The results of using and contributing to research-related open source hardware in our
group has shown that scientific research can be accelerated and the results disseminated
faster than when following the closed paradigm of the past (Pearce, 2012). The pragmatic,
purely self-serving benefits for most academic research groups to adopt open source hard-
ware are clear. Academics will save money, get more money, get better students, rack up
more citations, have a higher probability of obtaining tenure at any institution, and have a
larger impact on their fields and the greater society.
Anecdote: A Cautionary Tale for Education
John English
