How Open-Source Robotics Hardware Is Accelerating Research and Innovation

The latest issue of the IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine features a special report on open-source robotics hardware and its impact in the field. We've seen how, over the last several years, open source software--platforms like the Robot Operating System (ROS), Gazebo, and OpenCV, among others--has played a huge role in helping researchers and companies build robots better and faster. Can the same thing happen with robot hardware? It's already happening, says robotics researcher and RAM editor-in-chief Bram Vanderborght, who explains that building hardware has gotten much easier thanks to things like 3D printers, laser cutters, modular open electronics kits, and other rapid prototyping and fabrication techniques. And while "open-source robotics hardware is taking longer to catch on" compared to open-source robotics software, he notes that "several impressive examples exist, taking advantage of benefits of those novel rapid prototyping possibilities."