A New Age Dawns
Open source hardware offers exciting prospects but demands a fresh way of thinking.
Very occasionally, one encounters an idea that truly offers a glimpse of the future. Joshua Pearce’s enthusiastic account of the application of open source hardware to analytical science is one such insight. The approach combines the sharing of design information with 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, which is the process of making solid objects from a digital model. Pearce’s description of his experimentation to date and of the transformative potential of open source hardware in the long term presages a new age for our field.
The two elements of open source hardware are linked but separate. One is personal manufacturing – the capacity to affordably ‘print’ solid structures from polymers or metal, which opens doors for hands-on, innovation-minded scientists who want to create bespoke equipment. It will also impact the equipment vendors that most of us will continue to rely upon. Imagine a future where you could purchase and download schematics from your vendor’s support page and print out new parts yourself. This reduces their manufacturing costs, your downtime and everyone’s environmental impact. The phrase “warranty void” does spring to mind, however…
Of course, the impact of personal manufacturing isn’t limited to analytical science – it has essentially transformed how we consume music and video, and will likely revamp many other aspects of our lives. There are risks though. Just as media digitalization has created a pirating tsunami, releasing intellectual property in such a way requires a fresh, collaborative way of thinking.
Which brings me to the second aspect – development of new hardware.
Open source development has always been an inherent feature of academic research, though under a different guise – ‘the literature’. And recent projects such as ProteoWizard show the tangible benefits of open source software development to the analytical sciences. The cooperative development and design of hardware on a similar scale has only been made possible by recent advances in 3D printing. As that technology improves, the virtuous cycle of innovating, sharing, improving, and re-sharing will pave the way to faster advancement of technology.
How the substantial scientific talent and financial savvy that vendors possess will play into this process remains to be seen. I predict that the smartest companies will find ways to embrace the movement. And certainly in the near term, there is nothing to fear; reliability and performance, not cost, are top of the priority list in most cases.
We at The Analytical Scientist will follow progress in open source hardware development and take soundings on its commercial impact.
Rich Whitworth
Editor
If you have supportive or sceptical views on the subject, or experiences with personal manufacture and open source development, positive or negative, we’d love to hear them. Join the debate below:
Rich Whitworth completed his studies in medical biochemistry at the University of Leicester, UK, in 1998. To cut a long story short, he escaped to Tokyo to spend five years working for the largest English language publisher in Japan. "Carving out a career in the megalopolis that is Tokyo changed my outlook forever. When seeing life through such a kaleidoscopic lens, it's hard not to get truly caught up in the moment." On returning to the UK, after a few false starts with grey, corporate publishers, Rich was snapped up by Texere Publishing, where he spearheaded the editorial development of The Analytical Scientist. "I feel honored to be part of the close-knit team that forged The Analytical Scientist – we've created a very fresh and forward-thinking publication." Rich is now also Content Director of Texere Publishing, the company behind The Analytical Scientist.
