Open collaborative design

Intro

A core element of this development model is a principle called 'copyleft'  (symbol: ) which is a way of applying copyright to a creative work in a way that makes sure that anyone can freely use it or build upon it - and also that derivative works inherit the same terms, ensuring anything based on the original is freely available too. This principle means that 'copylefted' items – whether they are designs, text, artwork or computer code – are effectively gifted to humanity, adding to an ever increasing universal 'commons'. Because this principle is to the benefit of everyone, it completely changes the way that many people think about contributing their time and effort to this type of project. It already works very effectively with many high profile, successful software projects, so this is not merely wishful thinking.

Open collaborative design is a nascent field that has huge potential to radically alter the way we create goods, machines and systems – not only for personal items but all the way up to components of national or global infrastructure.

Sections

Main Page > Open collaborative design

Why is this a good thing?

For the nascent field of open collaborative design, advanced open-source CAD software will allow anyone, not just designers and engineers, to easily create new or variant designs, choosing from a vast array of 'copylefted' components, assemblies and whole artefacts from the universal commons that they can make use of. This not only means that people can customise things for their own needs (and tastes) but should make the design process much more efficient and help avoid the huge duplication of effort that occurs in design and engineering currently.

These principles can apply to designing the simplest things that can be made by individuals, solutions for communities in the developing world, all the way up to complex large-scale systems of national or global infrastructure involving thousands of people. Because the designs are not closed or proprietary, people are encouraged to contribute knowing their involvement not only benefits themselves but anyone else might use the results of their efforts. It also means that designs will evolve far faster because of the huge amount of parallel development that is likely to occur.

Giving these designs physical form will become fast and easy due to emerging high-speed, flexible manufacturing techniques. As a result the open design ecosystem will effectively become an internet for physical items — and the impact on society is likely to be as great as the web has been with respect to information.

Free and open-source computer-aided design

One of the core components necessary for open collaborative design to truly take flight is an advanced free and open-source computer-aided design (CAD) program to allow anyone to easily generate new designs or customise existing ones. The program should include a special browser to enable finding and importing open-source components and machines from the 'universal commons' as well as analytical tools and 'physics engine'  which allow a significant amount of simulation and testing to be done 'virtually', saving significant amounts of time when it comes to construction.

The availability of user-friendly open source CAD software will be essential to allow the widest number of people to engage in this creative activity, which should help create a more diverse ecosystem of objects, machines and solutions. There is no reason, with thoughtful implementation, why this software shouldn't be intuitive enough for children to use easily. It could explain mechanical and engineering principles along the way if the user wished, and also be a place to store detailed contextual development notes, wiki style, to help others understand the workings and decisions made.

Virtual designs into physical objects

Some of the ways that collaborative designs created on a computer can be physically forged range from getting your hands dirty and crafting it yourself, to sending the design, or at least parts of it, as an electronic file to an increasing number of computer-controlled manufacturing systems such as rapid prototyping or advanced multi-axis CNC machines  that can accurately create parts in 3D in a variety of materials.

Isn't this design by committee?

It has been said that a camel is a horse designed by committee... Won't this development model just create a herd of camels?

No, because there is no single 'conclusion' that a design must arrive at (unlike a committee's decision). As with software, it might be that an original design is created by a single motivated individual, or a small group of people with a common purpose and shared vision, but beyond that the design can be evolved in multiple directions by other interested parties who might need a particular variation.

Many fine horses have been created within the open-source software world and it will be the same with design and engineering.

Free riders

So what about free riders? What happens when there are people who only take and never give anything back?

Well, nothing really. Contributors are not expecting a specific quid pro quo arrangement - they get plenty in return from using other things in the universal commons. If it is trivial to duplicate the results of someone's efforts then the more people who are able to make use of it, the better. The situation is not zero-sum — people are not going without as a direct result of someone else having it.

Consider free and open-source software where anyone with a computer and internet connection can download the Firefox web browser or OpenOffice office software for free. Most people will be consumers rather than contributors, but this is of no consequence.

After a while of enjoying the fruits of open-source, many people are only too happy to contribute in some way, giving back to the community that has provided for them. The fact that they are not required to do this, in many instances makes it more likely that people will do so, uncoerced. This is human nature.

Names

There are many names that this embryonic movement might go by:

• Open collaborative design
• Open design
• Free design
• Free and open design
• Open-source design
• Open-source hardware
• Open design and engineering
• Open Peer-to-Peer Design

'Open source' applied to the physical world

The simplest method is to share information through a website on how to make things using text, diagrams and photographs. A more sophisticated way to collaborate on complex machinery and products would be to share computer-aided design assemblies much like project teams do in engineering and product design companies, knitted together with supporting information in an open and freely structured environment, much like a wiki .

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 as straightforward because of the effort and time required to create the physical artifact. However the physical world is catching up fast with the virtual world in this respect.

What is the motivation to contribute?

These are some reasons why someone might want to contribute to the 'universal commons' of free and open designs:

• The fun and challenge of working on an interesting project with other like-minded people (wherever they might be in the world), enabling them to do things they couldn’t perhaps achieve alone, or to significantly speed up development

• As an end user, desired products and machines can be individually customised to a high degree

• Other people may evolve your design further, which could benefit you as they might improve it or make additions you hadn't thought of.

• The concept of copyleft  (i.e. making sure that the details of the design are always available to everyone) changes the way people think about contributing their effort and time to creative open projects, as the contributions are for the benefit of everyone and anyone. Any contributions and improvements benefit all who have an interest in that project.

• As an individual, using and building upon existing components and assemblies from the universal commons will allow people to create things of a complexity that they might not have otherwise have had time to do, so they can be given a 'flying start' with engineering designs.

• Simple creative satisfaction (something rather lacking in this age of 'consumer culture'). Also a widely used design should give additional satisfaction to the creator knowing that many other people are getting practical use or joy from it. As with software created in this way many people will give positive feedback and praise, and the creator(s) will enjoy respect for their efforts

• Working on an open-project that may become a component of a wider technological ecosystem which moves modern society closer to being a truly advanced civilisation — rather than the compromised and highly unoptimised reality of the world today. One that is destroying the environment, not providing for the needs of the global population and with a significant percentage of people shackled to jobs and lifestyles they do not enjoy.

• Ultimately they will be similar reasons that motivate many hundreds of thousands of people who currently contribute to open-source software and similar collaborative endeavours world-wide.

A relevant quote from Benjamin Franklin  that becomes more plausible in the age of the internet and Open Design:

“... as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously.”

Vast libraries of machines and components

As in software, it would be useful for components and assemblies to be as 're-usable' as possible in the sense of being able to be incorporated in many different machine designs. To aid this it should be possible to specify the vital dynamic functions of a component or assembly in the CAD software, so that it can easily be modified in shape and scale so it can be incorporated into a new design while ensuring it still works correctly.

This will enable a huge reduction in duplication of effort and allow people to focus their efforts on creating new machines of increasing complexity and building on the work of others.

Free and open-source software

Networks of people (both companies and individuals) collaborate via the internet to develop useful software that others can freely benefit from. Not only is the software free to use, but so is the human-readable blueprint of the software, known as the source code . Anyone capable is free to customise or help improve open-source software, and making these changes available to others also encourages rapid development times, robustness and reduces duplication of effort.

People who doubt the viability of the principles outlined on this page in the real world only have to look to this sector to see amazing examples of what is being achieved already.

Others working within this field

• The MIT group behind Thinkcycle (open-source design for underserved communities and the environment) and Instructables which is a website to share step-by-step instructions for building things

• Adrian Bowyer - The RepRap project (an open-source rapid prototyping machine designed to be capable of self-replication), and in a similar vein, Hod Lipson with Fab@Home

• Marcin Jakubowski and team - Open Source Ecology. Farmer scientists dedicated to building the world's first replicable, open source, modern off-grid global village. Many open-source physical hardware projects being tested in the field (both metaphorically and literally)

• Cameron Sinclair - Architecture for Humanity - applying 'open-source' to humanitarian reconstruction and the built environment. They have recently launched the Open Architecture Network.

• Shared Design Alliance and their initiative Open Prosthetics Project. Currently fairly lo-tech but near-term may become invaluable in the developing world. Should eventually evolve to sophisticated designs.

• Terry Hancock - co-founder of Anansi Spaceworks that is attempting to use open source principles to develop space technology. His series of articles titled Towards a free matter economy make interesting reading. Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

• Massimo Menichinelli - developer of the Open Peer-to-Peer Design concept and design methodology. While Open Design focuses on opening a design project, Open P2P Design focuses on building a community or social system that follows Open P2P principles and organizational forms in order to put in practice a collaborative activity that generates Open Innovations.

...and there must be plenty more...

See also The Foundation for P2P Alternatives, started by Michel Bauwens, which is a large resource on related topics and in his words "functions as a clearinghouse for open/free, participatory/p2p and commons-oriented initiatives"

See also

Wikipedia articles

• Open source hardware 
• Open design 

The two articles above also list examples of existing open collaborative design projects. As this methodology becomes better known and the toolset more powerful then the projects undertaken in this manner will gradually increase in sophistication, capability and impact.

• Commons-based peer production 
• Gift economy 

Other areas

• Open source drug discovery network - for infectious diseases common to developing countries. Launched in India, Sep. '08.
• See links at bottom of Beyond software panel in the Free and open-surce software page on this site.

Articles

• Wired article about 'Arduino' open-source hardware