Since Dennis Allison released its Tiny Basic in 1975, he advocated the opening and sharing of most developers, these years, software open source has achieved remarkable results. At the same time, his sentence "Let us stand on the shoulders of each other, not on each other's toes." Also became a famous saying of open source software sports.
Today, open source software sports in the open and shared concept are pickering a hardware open source movement. Open source hardware refers to a computer and electronic hardware design with free and open source software. Open source hardware begins considering open sources other than software.
This word is mainly used to reflect the hardware design of free release details, such as circuit diagrams, materials list, and board layout data, usually using open source software to drive hardware.
Shared logic design is also a form of open source hardware with the reconstruction of programmable logic devices.
Since the end of the 1990s, engineers have already thought of some ways to apply open source concepts to computer and electronic hardware. The main obstacles are of course software easy to copy and can be copied for free, and the hardware is composed of real objects - by Chris Anderson is "atom rather than bits". In addition, hardware is basically protected by patents, not copyrighted, and patent acquisition and defend is very expensive.
Compared with the software open source, hardware open sources must be more difficult, then "open source hardware" will enter the public's line of sight?
Open source software popular secret
Before talking about open source hardware, let's take a look at why open source software will pop. Ordinary users will definitely do not care whether the software is open source, what license agreement is used. The only concern is the best software that can not spend the least money. So, how is the open source software to do cheap and easy to use?
1, free
Open source software The most attractive place is undoubtedly it is free. Compared to hundreds of thousands of prices in Windows, it can be freely propagated, and the free use of Ubuntu has long been moving forward. For embedded systems, open source systems can reduce equipment manufacturing costs, and affordable consumers are also unable to fight.
2, high quality
Excellent open source projects often attract a large number of technical genius to assist in development. So the ultimately issued software will not be lower than the charging software. In terms of PK, open source VirtualBox is not much inferior to VMware than the charge.
3, cross-platform
As a MAC user, I often worry about the Mac version of those excellent Windows platform software. But there is no such problem for open source software. An excellent open source software will have enthusiasts to compile themselves even if there is no "small operating system" version. In the end, excellent open source software is often perfectly supported by multi-platform. For example, the famous AutoCAD does not nausea support Mac, but the same CAD software, open source Archimedes support Windows and Mac. So if I often want to switch in two systems, I obviously choose Archimedes to reduce trouble.
4, customizance
An excellent open source software often has a few plugins. So software can also be able to cater to everyone's needs - If not understand, take a look at Firefox's horrible plugin library.
5, the problem repair is timely
It is a problem that the software will have problems, which is the truth that has been confirmed by countless times. Open source software can always rely on the wisdom of the masses, fix the problem in the first time. Update the release of Ubuntu and Fedora is much higher than Windows. Using the ED BOTT's blog articles.
Currently, there are many successful open hardware projects.
1, Power.org
In 2004, IBM created Power.org as part of its Power Everywhere creative, will Power Architecture? An open hardware project is built, there are free licensed standards, design and norms. In 2006, IBM announced free to open PowerPC to research and academic institutions? 405 CORE's plan, there are more than 40 universities attended this project.
2, OpenSPARC T1
Sun Microsystems also followed the OpenSPARC T1 in 2006, which is a full open implementation of its successful SPARC processor. Currently, there are three reduced instruction set computer (RISC) SPARC architectures, and source code is written in Verilog HDL, which is released under GNU Public License (GPL) license.
3, Beagleboard
BEAGLEBOARD is a single board computer based on TEXAS INSTRUMENTS's Open MultiMedia Application Platform 3 (SOC), which includes ARM-based microprocessors and a digital signal processor. Beagleboard uses the same processing engine as a lot of smartphones and netbooks, so that it is powerful enough to run a complete Linux release and provide high resolution videos. BeAgleboard is subject to a large community support, and its design documentation includes architectural sketches for the production of printed circuit boards (PCBs), available for free download. And it has also hatched several related items.
4, Arduino
Arduino is a microprocessor for end-oriented users, with easy-to-understand programming models, a full-open design for anyone, and a large ecosystem consisting of documents, expansion boards, distribution products and communities. According to O'Reilly Publishing Make Magazine and annual Maker Faire - I like to add flexible electronic characteristics to the project (from the flash Light-emitting diode to complex aircraft navigation system), it has been respected by DIY enthusiasts and players. It has been widely used as "Maker" in full swing.
5, opencores.org
OpenCores.org is a pioneer that begins in 1999, which is an open processor core portal, providing multi-processor core design documentation provided by various open licenses, including a free RISC computing platform. Several microcontrollers, two SOCs, and some algorithms, communications, and other cores, most of which are described in Verilog HDL.
Open source hardware popular foundation: programmable logic (PLD)
Unlike hardware, software development, communication, and deployment can almost zero. However, if you use "one-time" circuit, open source hardware does not say to invest in large-scale use, and even develop a problem - developers must endure extremely slow simulators. However, the presence of programmable logic devices has brought hope to open source hardware.
Simply put, programmable logic devices is a memory plus a logical gate array. The data on the memory can control the opening of the line between logic gates. Some programmable logic devices can even be written repeatedly and change the internal circuitry multiple times.
Thus, open source hardware has become like software, "zero-cost development, and zero-cost deployment".
Can an open source software have to be ported to hardware?
After all, software and hardware are different.
Is the advantage of open source software still exist on hardware?
1, price
At a glance, it seems that open source hardware will have a price advantage, because the product price does not contain considerable research and development costs. But the hardware is no longer "hand-made". However, it is very expensive to customize small batch products. It is almost impossible to make a large number of open source hardware to make a large number of open source hardware. The only possible way to implement the open source hardware design is to place the circuit in the programmable logic device.
2, quality
Open source software is often "ripening" from a huge developer community. But the developer of open source hardware is not enough. But this is not a problem, after all, developers can be cultivated. In the end, excellent open source hardware design is completely possible.
3, cross-platform
Unfortunately, hardware is unable to "cross". Even if you are equivalent to the X86 architecture, Intel, AMD, and VIA processors are also huge. Because the entire platform is different, the so-called transplant is difficult to implement, which is hard to achieve. Some people may mention full-US Efficeon, but such architectures do not have satisfactory performance even in programmable logic devices, and there are also different problems that have different platforms definition.
4, customizable
Open source hardware can achieve scalability by developing internal bus standards. But the next problem is that the capacity of programmable logic devices is often extremely limiting the scalability of hardware.
5, update
The usage of programmable logic devices makes zero-added update hardware become reality. So the updated problem does not hinder the development of open source hardware.
Programmable logic devices make hardware performance and functional competitiveness
As mentioned earlier, programmable logic devices make the spread of open source hardware possible. But is the hardware that stands above the programmable logic depends on performance and function to push the user?
The principle of programmable logic devices is the opening of the line between data determined by the data within the memory. Therefore, the structure of programmable logic devices determines that it cannot carry too complex design, and the power consumption is high and the speed is slow. Therefore, the use of programmable logic devices use not only to limit the developer's thinking space and slow down slow speed. For mobile devices, programmable logic devices also reduce battery life.
Hardware open source popular? Great ideal
But we know that on behalf of the existing technology and organization, open source hardware will only spread in the pole. If you want to "open source hardware" in the public, unless the open source hardware design is mature enough, the product can meet the people's personalized demand, and DIY is simple enough, so that open source hardware is likely to be popular.
Let the open source hardware achieve the same level as the open source software, and at this stage is only a great dream of the vibrant. But I deeply got to be convinced of this generous spirit.
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