ApacheCon NA 2015

CPUs that cost thousands a decade ago are now cost a few dollars. The Arduino platform has lowered barriers to entry so that people with minimal tech knowledge can create special purpose computers capable of changing the world. Open Source Hardware is in autonomous drones, 3D printers, DNA replicators, satellites, city-wide sensor networks, smart houses and wearable computers. In this talk I'll take you through what Open Source Hardware is and isn't, OSW licensing, recent advances in OSW, show a range of projects and demonstrate what's possible now, and warn about some the threats (lack of protocol standards and vendor lock in to name two) that may hinder the growth of Open Source Hardware.