Dr. N We are thinking down similar paths. See my other other posts.
I will check out the satilite site. My sense is, without even looking, that a fair number of people working on the project probably had some aerospace background and were well schooled in the process of requirements driven product design. I dont want to clog up community with this talk so I'm trying to get a new list set up. Steve Dr. H. Nikolaus Schaller wrote: > Hi Lothar, Jörg, Sean, Steve, and all others who are interested in a > future GTA03, > > I have also been thinking for a while in exactly the same direction. > Making the development of the GTA03 a community activity. Supported and > sponsored by individuals and companies who are interested in the results. > > On one hand HW development needs a clear and close communication between > people. On the other hand it needs a large number of supporters who keep > their fingers out until they are asked. But synchronizing activities is > much more difficult than with SW (using SVN or GIT). > > What we IMHO therefore need is: > > * a core team that works (at least semi-)professionally on it. I think > the community is large enough to provide enough members with all > expertise that is required (from mechanics over battery to RF etc.). > * a clear milestone plan as in every successful hardware development > project > * a specification freeze at some point in the milestone plan > * openness to ask for help into the community to judge between several > similar technical solutions for the same requirement > * funding of the project organization (e.g. we can set up a community > funds or society or association or however the legal form has to be > choosen). Funding levels could start at 5€ per year for students and go > upwards for individuals and companies. And special services (e.g. > managing the production of 100 customized units) could even provide more > funding for the organization. > > A word to all those who think Hardware can not be developed by a > community should take a look at: > > http://www.amsat.org/ > > Building, launching and operating not only 1 but approx. 50 satellites > in the past 30 years is definitively more complex than building an open > smartphone. > > Nikolaus > > > Am 05.04.2009 um 19:39 schrieb Lothar Behrens: > >> >> Am 05.04.2009 um 18:14 schrieb Joerg Reisenweber: >> >>> Am So 5. April 2009 schrieb Lothar Behrens: >>>> Hi, >>>> >>>> I am mostly reading and sometime writing here. If it was useful or >>>> useless - I don't know. But anyway. >>>> Isn't it possible to also develop hardware collaboratively? >>> [...] >>> Hi Lothar, >>> nope this won't fly. It's basically the sw pov approach to hw >>> development >>> Steve mentioned in one of his current posts. >> >> I may read his post... >> >>> >>> Developing hw is more than creating a good looking schematics in >>> Eagle, and >>> tasks like layout are partially done by autorouter and the other >>> half is a >>> *close* *interactive* process between the layout gal, the EE guys, >>> the RF >>> guys, the ME dept, sourcing dept etc etc. >> >> It is indeed difficult. But otoh are many hw projects >> (http://opencores.org/ >> or http://opencollector.org/ for sample), >> or at least hw related. >> >>> >>> IIRC OM had some really nasty experience when outsourcing some >>> layout task. >>> Just because the layout didn't understand exactly what EE had in >>> mind when >>> creating the schem, and EE didn't closely check the work of layouters. >>> >> >> I don't speak about outsourcing. I have made similar experiences with >> outsourcing: >> >> An EE project (motor control) should be outsourced, but the schematics >> were sent by faximile! >> The result was about writing an application to compare the netlists to >> compare the then distinct >> projects (different wire names and the like). >> >> So don't split any EE project or work with different versions without >> a CVS or SVN! >> >> But giving development boards or mobile phone development kits would >> be an option to >> broaden the idea behind open mobile phone. Say, a GSM kit could be >> used for the carPC hobby >> engineer. And there are really GSM modules sold by other companies. >> (http://www.gsm-modem.de/ >> ) >> >> Then you have the control about your pcb design, but propably broaden >> your product palette. >> >> Not all developers need a complete telephone. But you could indeed get >> more value if the >> 'components' of a mobile device also spread the globe - as a >> development kit or separately. >> >>> for your Q about project files instead of pdf: OM is making money by >>> selling >>> hw, so there's not much sense in publishing data that doesn't help >>> EE guys in >>> community to understand the hw but instead is only needed for >>> production >>> purposes. In the end you can't do anything on a single-device basis >>> with >>> layout or schem proj data you couldn't do without it. Or are you the >>> guy >>> who's etching 8-layer at home and soldering uBGA by hand? ;-) You >>> can't patch >>> a ready-done 8layer PCB, no matter what your document files are (sw >>> POV on >>> hw!). And no company is going to invest in producing some dozen >>> proto PCB >>> done by "anonymous" community guys, without checking each and every >>> trace and >>> footprint again what in the end for sure is more work than doing it >>> inhouse >>> from scratch. >> >> I don't mean that you grab the prototypes blindly for your use. But >> didn't you think, the comunity >> will also help in hardware aspects? >> >> Maybe the devkit could be coubled with a contest, who develops the >> best mod or addon. Or as an early preview >> for developers of software (the display discussion for sample: >> Touchscreen Capacitive (was Re: OT: iPhone howto)). >> >> Did someone yet really implemented drivers for a multitouch display? >> >> Wouldn't it good to get one preassembled from OM to develop for it? >> >> Therefore a kit would be good. Also selling kits for parts only. >> >> Gerald: It is worth to publish the private post :-) >> >>> >>> Other companies tend to keep schematics closed to protect their IP, >>> so we at >>> OM at least don't want to give asian cloners a kickstart without >>> adding *any* >>> benefit for our customers. >> >> Do you really think, they don't get any value just from the PDF version? >> Time will tell us this. >> >> Other companies think about using the same idea behind open source for >> hardware. It's because >> of one big issue today: The technologie changes so fast, that >> individual development is too expensive. >> >> Opencores as mentioned above is impressing me. Another group is going >> similar steps in automotive. Even yet >> closed and membership is propably very expensive, But there is >> movement in how to develop technical products. >> >> Lothar >> >> -- | Rapid Prototyping | XSLT Codegeneration | http://www.lollisoft.de >> Lothar Behrens >> Heinrich-Scheufelen-Platz 2 >> 73252 Lenningen >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Openmoko community mailing list >> community@lists.openmoko.org >> http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community > _______________________________________________ Openmoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community