Open Source Hardware

Abstract

Open source hardware (OSH) refers to physical components generated by a decentralized de sign and development model encouraging open collaboration.OSH is an analogy to open source software.OSH usually intends that information about the hardware is readily identifiable so that others can make it.OSH refers to hardware designs whose specifications, con struction instructions, and documentation can be publicly accessed, modified, and used by others.Hardware generally can refer to everything that can be built.Hence, it also applies to the doityourself culture and its maker subculture in the broadest sense.The maker scene is technol ogy oriented with a major interest in but not restricted to electronics, mechanics, and robotics.Open source software (OSS) is free, that is, everybody has the freedom to download or copy, use, study, and distribute it, with or without modifications for free.So, one requires only a computer and a respective runtime system to execute the software.However, additional tools such as editors and compilers are required for inspection, modification, and translation.Yet most of these software tools are also available as open source.Sometimes OSH is also referred to as free and open source hardware (FOSH).However, hardware is physical and cannot just be downloaded or replicated.Producing hardware requires physical resources and also costs money.Manufacturing a product requires a bill of materials (that is, a list of required raw materials, components, and tools), which obviously has a specific price.Thus, here freedom refers to hardware made from a free design, for example, mechanical drawings, schematics, a layout data of printed