Are We Doing Enough? Sharing Design and Manufacturing Expertise Across Open Source Hardware Communities

Working with open source hardware designs is often a challenging task. Details about the design and the steps necessary for production may be limited, and bringing the relevant information together often introduces significant educational, institutional and socio-economic barriers. Where explicit support for working with open source hardware design files is provided, its efficacy is difficult to measure. Not only is it often hard for the community to re-create and build on open source designs, it’s also hard for authors of open source projects to know how best to provide suitable help and guidance.

As a research community, could we do more to ensure that information relating to our open source hardware designs is accessible, understandable and effective? Are we using the best processes and channels to empower the widest audience to work with and replicate open source hardware? This workshop will explore and assess methods of information sharing within and between open hardware communities and their efficacy. We will examine industrial, academic and social spheres to construct a multidimensional image of where help can be found, what help is out there, how it can best be leveraged, and what opportunities exist to enhance access to it.