Open-source appropriate technology

Last updated

Open-source appropriate technology (OSAT) is appropriate technology developed through the principles of the open-design movement. Appropriate technology is technology designed with special consideration for the environmental, ethical, cultural, social, political, and economic aspects of the community it is intended for. Open design is public and licensed to allow it to be used, modified and distributed freely. [1] [2]

Contents

Benefits

Open source is a development method for appropriate technology that utilizes distributed peer review and transparency of process.

In an article published on Harvard Business Review , Vasilis Kostakis and Andreas Roos argue that the "open-source" model can act as a driver of sustainable development since it enables localization for communities that do not have the resources to tempt commercial developers to provide local versions of their products, minimizing the need to ship materials over long distances and organizing material activities accordingly. [3] Local manufacturing would also make maintenance easier and encourage manufacturers to design products to last as long as possible. [3] The technology can be both "gratis" and "libre," i.e., free of both the monetary cost and contractual restrictions often associated with commercial technologies and patents. That freedom can be an important consideration for developing communities. [4] According to the concepts of Jeremy Rifkin, it thus optimizes the sharing of knowledge and design as there are no patent costs to pay for. [3]

Ethical considerations

For solutions, many researchers, companies, and academics work on products meant to assist sustainable development. The ethics of information sharing in this context have been explored in depth. [5] [6]

Support in the literature

In education

The Appropedia Foundation is a non-profit organization running Appropedia, the largest wiki documenting schematics, ideas, observations, experimental data, deployment logs etc. about patent-free appropriate technology, permaculture and related subjects. [17]

At the university level, the use of open-source-appropriate technology classroom projects has been shown to be successful in forging the connection between physics and social benefit. [18] This approach has the potential to use students' access to resources and testing equipment in furthering the development of appropriate technology. Similarly, OSAT has been used for improving service learning. [19] [20] MIT studied the usefulness of appropriate technology in education and its relation to OSAT. [21]

It has been proposed that the evolution of the open-source 3D printers can enable a new method of development for OSAT. [22] [23]

Fracture mechanics, ergonomics/user friendly design, and user centered design; All factor in to create a high quality, new and improved product not to mention the use of smart materials like graphene.

Evaluation

Appropriate technology is designed to promote decentralized, labor-intensive, energy-efficient and environmentally sound businesses. [24] Carroll Pursell says that the movement declined from 1965 to 1985, due to an inability to counter advocates of agribusiness, large private utilities, and multinational construction companies. [25] Recently (2011), several barriers to OSAT deployment have been identified: [26]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Joshua M. Pearce, "The Case for Open Source Appropriate Technology", Environment, Development and Sustainability, 14, pp. 425-431 (2012)
  2. ↑ Pearce, J. M. (2014). Free and open source appropriate technology. in The Routledge Companion to Alternative Organization, 308. ISBN   9780415782265
  3. 1 2 3 Kostakis, Vasilis. Roos, Andreas. New Technologies Won’t Reduce Scarcity, but Here’s Something That Might. Harvard Business Review, 2018.
  4. ↑ Pearce, Joshua. "Innovation Through Collaboration: Scaling up Technological Solutions for Sustainable Development". Academia.
  5. ↑ Shea, P. (2014). Community arts and appropriate internet technology: participation, materiality, and the ethics of sustainability in the digitally networked era.
  6. ↑ Bentley, C. M. (2014). Exploring information ethics for inclusive open development. The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries. Archived 2015-02-12 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ A. J. Buitenhuis, I. Zelenika and J. M. Pearce, Open Design-Based Strategies to Enhance Appropriate Technology Development", Proceedings of the 14th Annual National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance Conference : Open, March 25–27th 2010, pp. 1–12
  8. ↑ Pearce J., Albritton S., Grant G., Steed G., & Zelenika I. 2012. A new model for enabling innovation in appropriate technology for sustainable development Archived 2012-11-22 at the Wayback Machine . Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy8(2), pp. 42-53, 2012
  9. ↑ Signorini, Giorgio F. (2019). "Open Source and Sustainability: the Role of Universities". arXiv: 1910.06073 [cs.CY].
  10. ↑ Amy Kapczynski et al., "Addressing Global Health Inequities: An Open Licensing Approach for University Innovations", Berkley Technology Law Journal 20 (2005): 1031–1114.
  11. ↑ Stephen M. Maurer, Arti Rai, and Andrej Sali, "Finding Cures for Tropical Diseases: Is Open Source an Answer?", PLoS Medicine 1, no. 3 (December 2004): 183–186.
  12. ↑ Sinha, S.R. and Barry, M., 2011. Health technologies and innovation in the global health arena. New England Journal of Medicine, 365(9), pp.779-782.
  13. 1 2 Joshua M. Pearce and Usman Mushtaq, "Overcoming Technical Constraints for Obtaining Sustainable Development with Open Source Appropriate Technology", Science and Technology for Humanity (TIC-STH), 2009 IEEE Toronto International Conference, pp. 814–820, 26–27 September 2009
  14. ↑ Louie H. Experiences in the construction of open source low technology off-grid wind turbines. In2011 IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting 2011 Jul 24 (pp. 1-7). IEEE.
  15. ↑ Pscheidt, M. and van der Weide, T.P., 2010. Bridging the Digital Divide by Open Source: A Theoretical Model of Best Practice.
  16. ↑ Rocco, Grant (October 2015). Developing Maker Economies in Post-Industrial Cities: Applying Commons Based Peer Production to Mycelium Biomaterials (M.Arch thesis). University of Massachusetts Amherst. doi:10.7275/7047367.
  17. ↑ "Appropedia Foundation". United Nations Volunteers. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
  18. ↑ J. M. Pearce, "Teaching Physics Using Appropriate Technology Projects", The Physics Teacher, 45, pp. 164–167, 2007
  19. ↑ Joshua M. Pearce, "Appropedia as a Tool for Service Learning in Sustainable Development", Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 3(1), pp.45–53, 2009
  20. ↑ S. Murphy and N. Saleh, "Information literacy in CEAB's accreditation criteria: the hidden attribute", In Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Innovation and Practices in Engineering Design and Engineering Education, 2009. Hamilton, ON July 27–29, 2009
  21. ↑ Grue, Amanda J. An investigation into and recommendations for appropriate technology education. MIT. 2011
  22. ↑ Kentzer, J.; Koch, B. ; Thiim, M. ; Jones, R.W. ; Villumsen, E. An open source hardware-based mechatronics project: The replicating rapid 3-D printer, Mechatronics (ICOM), 2011 4th International Conference, 17–19 May 2011. doi:10.1109/ICOM.2011.5937174
  23. ↑ J. M Pearce, C. Morris Blair, K. J. Laciak, R. Andrews, A. Nosrat and I. Zelenika-Zovko, "3-D Printing of Open Source Appropriate Technologies for Self-Directed Sustainable Development", Journal of Sustainable Development 3(4), pp. 17-29 (2010)
  24. ↑ Hazeltine, B.; Bull, C. (1999). Appropriate Technology: Tools, Choices, and Implications. New York: Academic Press. pp. 3, 270. ISBN   0-12-335190-1.
  25. ↑ Pursell, Carroll. "The Rise and Fall of the Appropriate Technology Movement in the United States, 1965–1985". Technology and Culture, Vol 34, No. 3: 629–637 (July 1993)
  26. ↑ I. Zelenika and J.M. Pearce, "Barriers to Appropriate Technology Growth in Sustainable Development", Journal of Sustainable Development4(6), 12-22 (2011)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Appropriate technology</span> Technological movement

Appropriate technology is a movement encompassing technological choice and application that is small-scale, affordable by locals, decentralized, labor-intensive, energy-efficient, environmentally sustainable, and locally autonomous. It was originally articulated as intermediate technology by the economist Ernst Friedrich "Fritz" Schumacher in his work Small Is Beautiful. Both Schumacher and many modern-day proponents of appropriate technology also emphasize the technology as people-centered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open-design movement</span> Movement for product development with publicly shared designs

The open-design movement involves the development of physical products, machines and systems through use of publicly shared design information. This includes the making of both free and open-source software (FOSS) as well as open-source hardware. The process is generally facilitated by the Internet and often performed without monetary compensation. The goals and philosophy of the movement are identical to that of the open-source movement, but are implemented for the development of physical products rather than software. Open design is a form of co-creation, where the final product is designed by the users, rather than an external stakeholder such as a private company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open-source hardware</span> Hardware from the open-design movement

Open-source hardware (OSH) consists of physical artifacts of technology designed and offered by the open-design movement. Both free and open-source software (FOSS) and open-source hardware are created by this open-source culture movement and apply a like concept to a variety of components. It is sometimes, thus, referred to as FOSH. The term usually means that information about the hardware is easily discerned so that others can make it – coupling it closely to the maker movement. Hardware design, in addition to the software that drives the hardware, are all released under free/libre terms. The original sharer gains feedback and potentially improvements on the design from the FOSH community. There is now significant evidence that such sharing can drive a high return on investment for the scientific community.

Commons-based peer production (CBPP) is a term coined by Harvard Law School professor Yochai Benkler. It describes a model of socio-economic production in which large numbers of people work cooperatively; usually over the Internet. Commons-based projects generally have less rigid hierarchical structures than those under more traditional business models.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RepRap</span> Self-replicating 3D printer initiative

RepRap is a project to develop low-cost 3D printers that can print most of their own components. As open designs, all of the designs produced by the project are released under a free software license, the GNU General Public License.

Peer production is a way of producing goods and services that relies on self-organizing communities of individuals. In such communities, the labor of many people is coordinated towards a shared outcome.

Open innovation is a term used to promote an information age mindset toward innovation that runs counter to the secrecy and silo mentality of traditional corporate research labs. The benefits and driving forces behind increased openness have been noted and discussed as far back as the 1960s, especially as it pertains to interfirm cooperation in R&D. Use of the term 'open innovation' in reference to the increasing embrace of external cooperation in a complex world has been promoted in particular by Henry Chesbrough, adjunct professor and faculty director of the Center for Open Innovation of the Haas School of Business at the University of California, and Maire Tecnimont Chair of Open Innovation at Luiss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open research</span> Research made available to the public

Open research is research that is openly accessible by others. Those who publish research in this way are often concerned with making research more transparent, more collaborative, more wide-reaching, and more efficient. Open research aims to make both research methods and the resulting data freely available, often via the internet, in order to support reproducibility and, potentially, massively distributed research collaboration. In this regard, it is related to both open source software and citizen science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Applied sustainability</span> Sustainability with social justice

Applied sustainability is the application of science and innovation, including the insights of the social sciences, to meet human needs while indefinitely preserving the life support systems of the planet.

The term "knowledge commons" refers to information, data, and content that is collectively owned and managed by a community of users, particularly over the Internet. What distinguishes a knowledge commons from a commons of shared physical resources is that digital resources are non-subtractible; that is, multiple users can access the same digital resources with no effect on their quantity or quality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open Source Ecology</span>

Open Source Ecology (OSE) is a network of farmers, engineers, architects and supporters, whose main goal is the eventual manufacturing of the Global Village Construction Set (GVCS). As described by Open Source Ecology "the GVCS is an open technological platform that allows for the easy fabrication of the 50 types of industrial machines that it takes to build a small civilization with modern comforts". Groups in Oberlin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and California are developing blueprints, and building prototypes in order to test them on the Factor e Farm in rural Missouri. 3D-Print.com reports that OSE has been experimenting with RepRap 3-D printers, as suggested by academics for sustainable development.

The digital commons are a form of commons involving the distribution and communal ownership of informational resources and technology. Resources are typically designed to be used by the community by which they are created.

The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field (OSOTF) is a project organized under open source principles, which is a fully grid-connected test system that continuously monitors the output of many solar photovoltaic modules and correlates their performance to a long list of highly accurate meteorological readings.

Distributed manufacturing also known as distributed production, cloud producing, distributed digital manufacturing, and local manufacturing is a form of decentralized manufacturing practiced by enterprises using a network of geographically dispersed manufacturing facilities that are coordinated using information technology. It can also refer to local manufacture via the historic cottage industry model, or manufacturing that takes place in the homes of consumers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joshua Pearce</span> American engineer

Joshua M. Pearce is an academic engineer at Western University and Michigan Tech known for his work on protocrystallinity, photovoltaic technology, open-source-appropriate technology, and open-source hardware including RepRap 3D printers.

<i>Open-Source Lab</i> (book)

The Open-Source Lab: How to Build Your Own Hardware and Reduce Research Costs by Joshua M. Pearce was published in 2014 by Elsevier.

A recyclebot is an open-source hardware device for converting waste plastic into filament for open-source 3D printers like the RepRap. Making DIY 3D printer filament at home is both less costly and better for the environment than purchasing conventional 3D printer filament. In following the RepRap tradition there are recyclebot designs that use mostly 3-D printable parts.

Open manufacturing, also known as open production, maker manufacturing, and with the slogan "Design Global, Manufacture Local" is a new model of socioeconomic production in which physical objects are produced in an open, collaborative and distributed manner and based on open design and open source principles.

Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized software development model that encourages open collaboration. A main principle of open-source software development is peer production, with products such as source code, blueprints, and documentation freely available to the public. The open-source movement in software began as a response to the limitations of proprietary code. The model is used for projects such as in open-source appropriate technology, and open-source drug discovery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Appropedia</span>

Appropedia is a wiki-based website that contains content relating to poverty, environmental degradation and international development.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.