This document discusses copyleft hardware, a new movement to create open source hardware designs that can be freely built, modified, and shared. It provides examples of current copyleft hardware projects like the Ben NanoNote pocket computer and SAKC FPGA board. The document advocates designing hardware from the beginning without proprietary tricks or secrets, and releasing plans under a copyleft license like CC-BY-SA to allow others to benefit from and build upon the work. The goal is to bring the positive aspects of forking and community contributions to hardware in the same way free and open source software has benefited from these practices.
3. reverse engineering, anti-
vendor ports, begging for
datasheets - WHY?
XBurst Jz4720 COB
Ben NanoNote
⁄ let's build our own computers, the right way
from day 1
⁄ without proprietary tricks, without NDAs,
trade secrets, patents
⁄ copyleft plans (CC-BY-SA), copyleft
software (GPL), patent-free
4. copyleft hardware is a new movement
⁄ mid-90's: free software (Linux)
⁄ last 10 years: free content (Wikipedia)
⁄ last few years: copyleft hardware (Qi hardware)
5. technology transfer
⁄ manufacturing process
⁄ how multiple companies and service
providers can work together
⁄ respect the work of others, find own business
opportunities
⁄ build ability to service the equipment
⁄ knowledge about PCB routing: EMI, noise, etc.
⁄ circuit knowledge: decoupling capacitors,
inductors, etc.
6. David Reyes Samblas Martinez
Tuxbrain
⁄ VCs, banks, academia, parents, incubators all
fail us, so let's do it ourselves
⁄ who's on board now: many individuals, Elphel
(USA), IDA Systems (India), Sharism (Hong
Kong), Tuxbrain (Spain)
⁄ largest company has 4 employees
⁄ university professor: Carlos Camargo, UNAL
8. remember forks?
Forks in free software mostly fail, but their
presence keeps people honest, makes
them communicate, understand each other,
and want to find a way forward together.
Copyleft hardware brings the positive
power of forking to the hardware industry.
9. Terminology: too many people latch onto open
hardware, open source hardware, open design
hardware. We think copyleft hardware makes it clear.
copyleft: “the practice of using copyright law to offer the
right to distribute copies and modified versions of a
work” (source: wikipedia.org)
10. Ben NanoNote
⁄ ultra-mobile clamshell pocket computer, 126 g
⁄ no USB Host, no Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/RF, no touch screen
⁄ clean 2.6.34 Linux kernel, no binary modules
⁄ kernel patches in process of being upstreamed
⁄ full support in OpenWrt and JLiMe upstream
⁄ extensible over USB client cable
and SDIO-capable microSD
⁄ started selling in February, sold
800 to date in over 30 countries
⁄ 99 USD, http://nanonote.cc
11. SAKC
⁄ basically a Ben NanoNote
for hardware hackers
⁄ FPGA added, keyboard
and case removed
⁄ large software commonality
with Ben NanoNote
⁄ could be interesting for academia and hobbyists
⁄ led by UNAL and Carlos Camargo
⁄ currently only 10 SAKC boards exist, maybe
more for next semester
⁄ other universities need to join
14. Presentation by Wolfgang Spraul for Campus Party 2010
May 30, 2010 - Bogota/Colombia
License of presentation: CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported
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