Notes here
From Gosh! 2009: Open Source Hardware Summit
Open Repository - notes from session
log from the chat on irc.freenode.net #mamalala
Summary: Participants discussed issues relating to licensing as the basis for the realization of the repository, as well as the functions and features of a repository that would enhance the Open Source Hardware creation and sharing process, and strengthen/centralize the global community.
Here is a current list of open hardware repositories, which can all be searched [1]:
Make Open Collector Open Cores Instructables Cern Open Hardware Repository Open Prosthetics Wiki Open Prosthetics Social Net Open Prosthetics Liquidware Open Source Hardware Bank Liquidware Blog Open Hardware Adafruit Industries
Cited: http://www.tapr.org/ohl.html (a howto for distributing Open Source Hardware) http://ladyada.net/library/openhardware/license.html
Discussion of problem on Open Prosthetics Wiki
Summary (Gisle) -how to release with a proper license?
-licensing as basis for repository
-group should announce a common belief about licensing technique (Jon says this is unlikely to happen and that licensing is irrelevant for legal reasons - they are not legally effective)
-Jon: what options are out there now, so we won't duplicate effort - most people have a particular project in mind and are looking or best way to distribute design basis - would you use something already out there now? if not, why? is it worth the effort to create a new substitute? (google code, sourceforge etc. - you need to have value added to justify replacing them)
-Jon: what is missing from currently existing tools? (offers to gives list of desired features)
-Gisle: sees this as a definition problem. What is Open Hardware? A repository should be for Open Hardware, not just any hardware project
-Jon: Gisle will exclude projects that don't meet the definition of Open Hardware
-Gisle: http://ladyada.net/library/openhardware/license.html whole point of license is to secure the freedom of it and not to restrict it
-Gisle: a license is needed for something to be considered Open Source - putting some information or instructions out does not suffice - Open Source is under license
-Gisle: John Ackerman - TAPR license - based on GPL, but adapted to Open Hardware
-Andre: separate hardware, software and perhaps documentation licenses will be needed
-Jon: What does John Ackerman mean by TAPR - more of a contract than a license - a license is a specific legal permissions to use property that would otherwise be restricted - patent or copyrights are the only licensable things - contract is an agreement to abide by a certain type of use in return for materials - reverse engineering a board and not releasing it would not be infringing on a patent etc. because you cannot copyright an idea, only a representation - the only thing close to it is the schematic and no way to prove that a board is based on a schematic - most people are after dissemination of knowledge and utility and increase usage and allow remixing etc. - how to place restrictions on those to prevent unwanted usage? -
-What if something is made that is competitive to open market? - unless there is a patent, there are no rights - automatic copyright on speech, but not on physical design.
-Jurgen: need to differentiate between schematics, which gives idea of how devices are connected, and... - should open hardware include pcb layout, or just schematics? -
-Andre: one can use GPL or LGPL according to needs
-Gisle: it's not Open Sourced if it's not licensed...
-Juergen: chips we use are patented, they are not open - until we have open source chips we will be restricted for what we can use for building open source hardware
-What is the process when using a chip from a chip manufacturer? -Many open source projects start from reference diagrams given by manufacturers to encourage use - license designs in data sheets are meant to be used
-Beagle board - a well documented reference design with a marketing campaign
-Gisle: It is an example of Open Source becoming a buzzword for marketing
-Jon: is there such a thing as pure Open Source?
-Juergen: chip designers interested in building chips - cost of manufacture is millions - World Bank set up program for chip factories
-Jessica: amount of capital for semiconductor fab is a lot
-Juergen: not unrealistic to think about cooperating with corporations - SUN and IBM opening chip design to public
-Bengt: software, GCC (http://gcc.gnu.org/), not a group of private people, major corporations put effort in - if corporations start using repository of open source and cost of development could be shared with corporations
-Juergen: global standards for parts means engineers can build machines - standardization brings great wealth to societies - it's for the good of all - if we are thinking about a repository, there should be a choice of licenses -
-Gisle: it all boils down to defining what open is - and how we can secure to continued openness of it
-Jon: How important is licensing to a repository? - it is necessary, but the greatest benefit to society is in keeping licensing options as broad as possible - anything shared is useful -
-Jessica: maybe we should talk about standardizing representation - hardware doesn't have an easy way of presenting all the relevant files to a device/board etc. firmware/specific assembly instructions etc.
-Jon: chose google code as sourceforge clone, easier to use - electronic repository of all files - google code is bad way to distribute - versioning for binary files doesn't work - ideal as client of repository is a set of tools to make it easier - what tools can we provide that makes the repository work better? -auto part ordering from bom - list of parts from supplier
-Juergen: biggest challenge is version control - checking out and checking in - concurrent and noncurrent modifications
-Andre: how to make sure schematics all refer to the same version?
-Jessica; no IDE for hardware projects
-Jon: mechanism for sharing - assume you take what you can get -
-Juergen: alternatives for Kicad, modifications...
-Jon: what if you hook to Octopart option API that forces part modifications ? http://octopart.com/
further aspects of repository -graphical search engine based on schematics - suggestions for reuse - could extend to mechanical parts -documentation - expanded - instructions and images -connectors - size categories, usages etc. - does footprint above board even fit -standards for output
-jon: There are no Open Source solidworks... - all proprietary files are binary and encrypted - and companies license version control
-Juergen: OSH that is not electronic... - is it possible to serve these multiple communities? - maybe focus on electronic communities because that is hard enough
-Jon: What about enclosures - sharing enclosures
Juergen summary, we need: -licensing -various file format -versioning formats -believes to not support eagle and proprietary formats (andre: so many projects are made in eagle) -knowledge archive needs to be open
-need to offer many entry points into community
-Jon: analogy of OpenOffice vs. Microsoft Word - must be converted to Word to send to someone
-Andre: an Eagle to Kicad conversion would be a way to stay within a strict Open Source definition
why not centralized to this point? -people have the same ideas but different starting points -people only now getting together and realizing centralized approach - a matter of timing -features (Jon): no perfect or close solution out there - offer something that wouldn't be available anywhere else - the tent should be bigger and not exclusionary
-put many philosophies of open under one tent - it's possible to establish a rating system of openness - overcomes exclusionary challenges - rating for project and tools inside of it
-publicity - zeitgeist - people collecting because of press coverage and making the flow of information easier - searching projects and making connections based on commonalities
-how is it to make connections between people, their work, and their discussions
-how to evaluate worth of a project - creative/research currency - based on active participants, degree of openness, how many friends in the social network, the quality of their work etc.--
Juergen: we need a wish list He spoke and then there was indeed a Open Hardware Repository Wish List -converters -definitions of how to describe -where are the no-gos? -generic open-source hardware mailing list (sketching in hardware has an infrequent but informative list)
