Open design
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Open design is a term that applies to the investigation and potential of open source, open content and the collaborative nature of the internet to create physical objects. People apply their skills and time to projects for the common good and open design, perhaps where funding or commercial interest is lacking, for developing countries or to help to spread ecological or cheaper technologies. At the other end of the scale, open design may provide a framework for developing very advanced projects and technologies that might be beyond the resource of any one company or country and involve people who, without the copyleft mechanism, might not otherwise collaborate.
The "open design" movement is currently fairly nascent but holds great potential for the future in developing products, machines and physical systems. In some respects design and engineering are even more suited to open collaborative development than the increasing common open-source software projects, because with 3D models and photographs the concept can often be understood visually. It is not even necessary that the project members speak the same languages to usefully collaborate.
However there are certain barriers to overcome for open design when compared to software development where there are mature and widely used tools available and the duplication and distribution of code cost next to nothing. Creating, testing and modifying physical designs is not quite so straightforward because of the effort and time required to create the physical artifact.
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[edit] Suitable open CAD software for more advanced collaborative design
With respect to the issues mentioned above, it is likely that at some point advanced open-source CAD software with built-in physics engines and the ability to model kinematics and dynamics will aid engineers and designers greatly by allowing a lot of testing to be done virtually. For advanced collaborative design projects, the availability of user-friendly open-source CAD software will be essential along with open standards for associated file formats, as well as file converters to extract data from files created with proprietary CAD packages.
For simpler designs – those aimed at end users in developing countries, for example – simple text, sketches, diagrams and photographs are perfectly adequate, although perhaps not as straightforward to modify as CAD files. Where textual instructions are concerned, the overhead of translation efforts should be considered to enable the designs to reach as wide an audience as possible.
[edit] Open design organizations
Open design is currently a fledgling movement consisting of several unrelated or loosely related initiates. Many of these organizations are single, funded projects, while a few organizations are focusing on an area needing development. Only one organization to date is attempting to organize the movement into a large-scale collaborative effort whose role is analogous to that of sourceforge in the open source movement.
[edit] Organizations
- Anansi Spaceworks are applying the principles of open source to the colonisation of space.
- Appropedia and Village Earth's Appropriate Technology Wiki Project are wiki projects focused on the development of a database of appropriate technologies and related areas.
- Architecture for Humanity Architecture for Humanity is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that seeks architectural solutions to humanitarian crisis and brings design services to communities in need. They provide innovative, sustainable and collaborative design where resources and expertise are scarce. In addition to responding to recent natural disasters and systemic issues they are working with a number of high tech companies to develop the Open (source) Architecture Network to allow for online collaborative design and project implementation. This network is set to launch in 2007.
- Designbreak is a new open design organization – a nonprofit organization with an elegant development interface including a system for displaying CAD files in context. Designbreak purports to actively seek out or fund the manufacture of designs that have an application for the social good. Users may apply for both open design and research grants under this organization; paid employment is available where appropriate to leaders of funded projects.
- Open Design Alliance The Open Design Alliance is an association of software developers and users committed to promoting open, industry-standard formats for the exchange of CAD data.
- ThinkCycle is perhaps the oldest successful open design organization. ThinkCycle has a small, active community of participants. Several ThinkCycle projects have won development and innovation awards. Features limited message board type collaboration. The primary focus of Thinkcycle is on challenges among underserved communities and the environment.
[edit] Examples of Open design projects
- The Open Source Green Vehicle (OSGV) Project is an open source project and business plan aimed to create affordable and super fuel efficient cars and trucks to reverse greenhouse effect and to provide an inexpensive means of transportation to developing countries.
- The OScar project - open source car "simple and functional project".
- RepRap - an open-source rapid prototyping machine with the additional aim of making it self-replicating, i.e. for the machine to be able to make all, or at least most, of the component parts necessary to create another complete machine.
- Hind/CM A beautiful, brilliant Computing Machine for Hindustan(INDIA) and around the World.
- RONJA - a completely open source optical wireless networking device
[edit] Literature
- Episodes of Collective Invention (Peter B. Meyer, August 2003) An article on several historical examples of what could be called "open design."
- The Political Economy of Open Source Software (Steven Weber, June 2000) An article outlining the development of Linux from a political-science perspective. The conclusion suggests that the open-source development model is suited to disciplines besides software development.
- [1] (Alex Steffen, November 2006) An interview with Lawrence Lessig on the use of the Developing Nations License by Architecture for Humanity to create a global open design network.
