About
What defines an open source hardware product? Which requirements have to be fulfilled for a product to be called Open Source? And how can open source products be compared in terms of openness? The Open-o-Meter wants to answer these questions using an Open Source scale. In addition, it extends existing standards such as the Open Source Hardware (OSHW) Statement of Principles 1.0 of the Open Source Hardware Association (OSHWA).
Use
The Open-o-Meter is a simple scale from 0 to 8 where a product gets one point for each of the following aspects
- design files are published
- assembly instructions are published;
- a bill of materials is published;
- a contribution guide is published;
- published files are shared in original format
- use of versioning control system
- use of issue management system
- all this information is published under a license allowing commercial reuse.
It is simple:
- When a product gets 8 points, it conforms to the best practices of open source hardware.
- When a product gets 0 points, it does not seem to be open at all and should not be labeled as open source.
- When a product gets between 1 and 7, it is on it's way!