Dual Perspectives

The open source movement gave rise to Linux and spawned a generation of collaborative coders. Now it's extending its reach to the hardware industry.

Open source hardware is designed to be reprogrammed or physically modified to make it easy to install custom firmware and software to create entirely new products. The big idea: crowdsourcing hardware development will encourage innovation in unforeseen ways, much like how Creative Commons licenses have enabled artists to remix existing content to create new works.

The field of open source hardware is increasingly diverse and includes programmable gadgets, and DIY kits. There is even an open source chip-processor architecture. Some of these experiments have been highly successful and others have failed, but all have served as valuable learning experiences for the communities that emerged to leverage the resulting technology.

Take Bug Labs. The New York-based company makes modular open source hardware components that can be snapped together and programmed to build custom devices with specialized functions. The central building block of the BUG hardware stack is the BUGbase, a $250 portable computing device with an ARM processor, memory, a rechargeable battery and various ports. Additional modules, which are sold separately and snap into the BUGbase, can be used to add speakers, GPS, camera, motion sensors and an LCD touch screen. They have also announced support for new modules that will add WiFi, 3-G and a tiny video projector.

The BUG hardware system gives hobbyists a quick and easy way to transform hardware product ideas into prototypes for products. Bug Labs also provides a comprehensive software development kit that makes it easier for developers to create programs for BUG devices.

For example, one program will use the camera, GPS and motion sensor modules to take a picture when movement is detected, geotag the image and upload it to Flickr. Other third-party BUG applications include an instant messenger notifier, a barcode scanner and a GPS logger.

Not all gadget makers embrace this trend and a growing number of them are fighting back by blocking installation of custom software or slapping on warranty stickers to discourage would-be developers from opening up their gear and tweaking the electronics. (Apple has been particularly aggressive about discouraging iPhone hackers.)

Then there are companies like OpenMoko, a spinoff of Taiwan's First International Computer, established to build an open source touchscreen smartphone.

"For the people pushing this project, an open phone is not really even a product. It's the very embodiment of our vision of technology," OpenMoko CEO Sean Moss-Pultz wrote in 2007. "We absolutely, passionately, believe that something as fundamental to our lives as the mobile phone must be open."

The hardware schematics, CAD files and source code of the OpenMoko mobile phone handsets have all been made available under open licenses so they can be freely modified and redistributed. The project quickly attracted attention in the open source software community and became a hub of activity for open smartphone development.

Moss-Pultz is one of the pioneers of an innovative new product development model that he calls Social Electronics, an approach that leverages community involvement and collaboration with consumers. OpenMoko's handsets are intended for an audience of developers and technology enthusiasts rather than consumers.

"Our argument for the necessity of an open phone stems from an observation that the internet breaks down mass markets by making it economically attractive for companies to address niche market segments," Moss-Pultz wrote in a report released earlier this year. "We saw a real business opportunity caused by this divergence."

Developers have created multiple widget toolkits, telephony frameworks and user interface shells that have been successfully programmed to run on the OpenMoko hardware. Some of these were adapted from other platforms such as Nokia's Qtopia and others were built from scratch.

Now OpenMoko is turning the entire open smartphone project over to the developers. A combination of the cratering economy and technical setbacks forced the company to forgo the next version of the phone. In a recent letter to the OpenMoko developers, Moss-Pultz wrote that the company is working on a new project but did not disclose details.

He said he hopes the project's volunteer contributors will continue OpenMoko's smartphone work. The developer community now has control over the entire project — including the OpenMoko brand. The company has agreed to continue hosting the project's infrastructure and providing limited support.

"I am extremely excited about the idea of an entirely community-built open phone," wrote Moss-Pultz.