Open Source Hardware refers to computer and electronic hardware designed in the same way as free and open source software. Open source hardware designers typically publish detailed hardware design materials, such as mechanical drawings, circuit diagrams, bill of materials, PCB layouts, HDL source code, and IC layouts, as well as software development kits for driving open source hardware. Through these materials, others can quickly and easily replicate and reproduce a piece of hardware, thus achieving the effect of openness.
Advantages of Open Source Hardware
Open source hardware is not just about the openness of hardware design methods; it more reflects an open innovative concept. This concept believes that the gains from sharing are greater than the contributions made. When developers are no longer constrained by patent licenses and increasingly share their innovations publicly, they can receive more free help, thereby improving their inventions.
The impact of open source hardware on maker education mainly manifests in the following three aspects.
(1) Cost Advantages Accelerate the Popularization of Maker Education
Open source hardware, from hardware design (such as circuit diagrams, material lists, and circuit board layout data) to drivers and software development kits (SDKs), is open-sourced and can be obtained for free, with costs close to zero except for material, labor, storage, and other costs that may arise during production and sales. In addition, open source hardware on the market has different price levels according to functionality.
Therefore, for maker education institutions, such as primary and secondary schools, science museums, and youth palaces, they can conduct maker education practices according to their budget, and for individuals, some open source hardware prices are also acceptable, greatly accelerating the popularization of maker education.
(2) A Complete Industrial Chain Ecosystem Enhances the Implementation Efficiency of Maker Education
Due to the different goals of various maker education institutions, and the varying characteristics and levels of learners, the resources and cases required for conducting maker education are not the same. The open-source nature of open source hardware allows everyone to join in and share their insights, which has formed a complete industrial chain and a good ecosystem for open source hardware, providing comprehensive resources for various different entities, greatly enhancing the implementation efficiency of maker education.
(3) The Collaborative Iterative Product Update Concept Promotes Learner Growth
Makers continuously create while also improving the open source hardware they use, making it better. This process is also a growth process for learners, from which individual learners gain comprehensive growth, including interpersonal communication, teamwork, innovative problem-solving, critical thinking, and professional skills.
Open Source Hardware Tools
From 3D printers to various wearable devices, most open source hardware maker projects are developed based on open source hardware development platforms. Open source hardware development platforms are embedded chip development boards, and makers design, develop, and debug devices around these mainboards. Currently, the most suitable open source hardware platforms for maker education include:
Arduino
Arduino is the most common open source platform, with hardware including various models of official Arduino boards (the commonly used model is Arduino UNO), and expansion boards (Shields) that drive various hardware and sensors. The software development tool is Arduino IDE. Currently, there are various visual programming tools supporting Arduino boards, such as ArduBlock, Arduino Box, etc. Its advantages are simplicity, low cost, and a large user base, with starter kits costing only 160 yuan on Taobao. However, its processing power is relatively low, and it lacks universal interfaces.
BeagleBoard
Beagleboard is a low-power open source development platform produced in cooperation with Texas Instruments, Digi-Key, and Element14, and is a demonstration board for the Texas Instruments OMAP3530 chip. Its advantages lie in stronger processing power, strong expandability, and the ability to run Linux systems. However, its development difficulty is relatively high, and its price is somewhat higher.
Raspberry Pi
The Raspberry Pi was developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation in the UK, initiated by Eben Upton. Its price is moderate, compatibility is strong, interfaces are rich, and it has a huge user base. However, its development difficulty is high, and since it does not have onboard ROM, a MicroSD card must be added for use, making the overall cost higher and development more challenging.
pcDuino
The pcDuino platform was developed by Dr. Liu Jingfeng and his research and development team at Wuhan Lian Si Pu Rui Company. The platform’s biggest feature is its ability to integrate open source software Linux and the Arduino hardware ecosystem, fully supporting Arduino expansion boards and pin interfaces on one hand, and supporting multiple programming languages on the other. It has powerful performance, good compatibility, and a rich set of supported programming languages, but its price is relatively high, and its size is somewhat large, along with high power consumption, making it unsuitable for portable device development.
Edison
Edison was developed by Intel’s China Research Institute and officially released at the Intel Developer Forum in September 2014. It is a development board the size of an SD card. Its small size integrates wireless and has strong network processing capabilities, but it is somewhat expensive, and its user base is small.
Additionally, there are modular open source hardware like LittleBits that can be developed in a Lego-like manner.
From LittleBits to Arduino, from Raspberry Pi, BeagleBoard to pcDuino, and then to Edison, various open source hardware with different characteristics provide rich and distinctive solutions for the practice of maker education. We have reason to believe that the increasing popularity of open source hardware will bring greater development to maker education.
References:
Luo Liang, Zhu Zhitian. Open Source Hardware: A Lever to Propel Maker Education Practices [J]. China Educational Technology, 2015(04):7-14.
Editor: Qian Cheng
