EE5: Is an Open-source Hardware Revolution on the Horizon?

Summary form only given. The complete presentations were not made available for publication as part of the conference proceedings. Open-source has revolutionized software, fostering innovation and enhancing productivity. Hardware design is complex in distinct ways, which, on the one hand, makes such progression necessary, but, on the other hand, institutes completely new challenges. Are the challenges show stoppers, or just new ways of thinking and engineering? If open-source hardware could be attained, what would it look like, and would there be significant up-side (e.g., compared to today's IP licensing)? Whatever the answers, the success of open-source hardware will require alignment, partnership, and collective will across the hardware ecosystem, from design, to methodologies, to business models. This evening session brings together panelists representing and debating from these different perspectives, to make and break the case.