Friday, July 13, 2012: 9:00 pm (Nutt): Many open hardware projects use integrated circuits (ICs), but these ICs are literal black boxes because the manufacturers do not provide the silicon source code. There's also no way for makers to cost effectively modify and recompile this source code to fabricate custom ICs. But there is hope! Printable electronics based on novel materials and low cost fabrication techniques have the potential to enable open hardware at a whole new level. This talk will provide an overview of current printable electronics technology and discuss the issues that will arise as open hardware moves beyond silicon. What happens to open hardware when you can download and print an entire electronics project? How can we ensure that the materials used are open, widely available, and safe? How can we make IC design accessible to non-engineers? What should a Thingiverse for printable electronics look like? What are the legal issues surrounding printable electronics?

Hosted by John Sarik