Open-source hardware (OSH, OSHW) consists of physical artifacts of technology designed and offered by the open-design movement.
Both free and open-source software (FOSS) and open-source hardware are created by this open-source culture movement and apply a like concept to a variety of components.
It is sometimes, thus, referred to as FOSH (free and open-source hardware).
The term usually means that information about the hardware is easily discerned so that others can make it – coupling it closely to the maker movement. Hardware design (i.e. mechanical drawings, schematics, bills of material, PCB layout data, HDL source code and integrated circuit layout data), in addition to the software that drives the hardware, are all released under free/libre terms. The original sharer gains feedback and potentially improvements on the design from the FOSH community. There is now significant evidence that such sharing can drive a high return on investment for the scientific community.
It is not enough to merely use an open-source license; an open source product or project will follow open source principles, such as modular design and community collaboration.
Since the rise of reconfigurable programmable logic devices, sharing of logic designs has been a form of open-source hardware. Instead of the schematics, hardware description language (HDL) code is shared. HDL descriptions are commonly used to set up system-on-a-chip systems either in field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or directly in application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designs. HDL modules, when distributed, are called semiconductor intellectual property cores, also known as IP cores.
Open-source hardware also helps alleviate the issue of proprietary device drivers for the free and open-source software community, however, it is not a pre-requisite for it, and should not be confused with the concept of open documentation for proprietary hardware, which is already sufficient for writing FLOSS device drivers and complete operating systems. The difference between the two concepts is that OSH includes both the instructions on how to replicate the hardware itself as well as the information on communication protocols that the software (usually in the form of device drivers) must use in order to communicate with the hardware (often called register documentation, or open documentation for hardware), whereas open-source-friendly proprietary hardware would only include the latter without including the former.
How is open hardware licensed?
Open source hardware licenses generally permit recipients of the designs and documentations to study them, redistribute and modify them, and then to distribute any modifications. Additionally, open hardware licenses don’t prevent someone from giving away or even selling the project’s documentation.
Like software, hardware designs and inventions are subject to copyright and patent law. And like open source software, open source hardware uses these intellectual property laws creatively to make hardware designs publicly accessible. Because of their similarity to open source software projects, many open hardware projects simply use existing free and open source software licenses when licensing their works. Others use the Creative Commons By Attribution licenses, which are more focused on the features of works of art, as opposed to software. Both copyright law (in the case of source code and design documentation) and patent law (in the case of design processes and material technologies) apply to open hardware. Trademark law is also pertinent to the branding names and logos of open hardware.
For more information on open hardware licensing, consult the Open Source Hardware Association and the Open Source Hardware and Design Alliance.
How is open hardware different from other hardware?
All open hardware must be accompanied by documentation, including design files and source code. In addition, the license governing the reproduction of open hardware must allow modification and distribution of those design files in a way that allows others to easily obtain them. This makes possible—and even encourages—studying, troubleshooting, modifying, and improving open hardware.
If a piece of open hardware incorporates software of any kind, then that software should generally be released under an approved open source license. Alternatively, the open hardware’s interfaces should be documented in a way that makes writing open source software for the hardware as easy as possible.
Essentially, open hardware is all about making the object as easy to remix and reproduce as possible. Closed hardware uses obfuscation and patent law to make the recreation of the objects as difficult as possible, usually to ensure vendor lock-in in a supply line that doesn’t involve hobbyists and makers or other competitors.
How is open source hardware different from open source software?
Because open hardware projects usually result in the production or prototyping of a physical object, they almost always involve monetary investment for physical materials. While open software projects do involve labor costs and monetary investment, software can typically be distributed with lower overhead and is sometimes offered “free as in beer” (or “gratis”). Aside from offering documentation and source files to the public for no cost, it’s not financially feasible for most open hardware projects’ physical components to be offered gratis.
This doesn’t mean that the open hardware movement isn’t focused on minimizing cost for developers. In fact, initiatives like the Open Source Hardware Central Bank aid in securing sustainable funding for open hardware projects. Tools like KiCad help develop schematics for these projects, as well.
Open-Source Software monetization
Monetization of open source software for developers:
It should be remembered that there are several models for monetizing software, including a model where the “core of the solution” is offered in open form, and some modules that “extend functionality” and/or “increase the commercial value/return” of the entire solution can be provided for a fee (commercial) basis.
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