Open-Source Lab, 1st Edition: How to Build Your Own Hardware and Reduce Research Costs
- written by Appropedia user J.M. Pearce
- J.M. Pearce, Open-Source Lab: How to Build Your Own Hardware and Reduce Research Costs, Elsevier, 2013.
- ISBN: 9780124104624
- http://store.elsevier.com/Open-Source-Lab/Joshua-Pearce/isbn-9780124104624/
- 2016 Open source lab equipment interview on Radio New Zealand - Ogg,MP3
- Elsevier has made this chapter freely available for one year, until November 20, 2020: Open-Source Lab: How to Build Your Own Hardware and Reduce Research Costs.
Free content
This guide details the development of the free and open-source hardware revolution and provides you with step-by-step instructions on building your own laboratory hardware.
In the first two chapters displayed here, the author defines the basic terms of open-source software and discusses the rise of the open-source hardware revolution and how it impacts science before exploring five pragmatic advantages to joining the open-source scientific community for both your research in general, and most importantly, your equipment and instrumentation.
Key Features
- Numerous examples of technologies and the open-source user and developer communities that support them
- Instructions on how to take advantage of digital design sharing
- Explanations of Arduinos and RepRaps for scientific use
- A detailed guide to open-source hardware licenses and basic principles of intellectual property
Description
Open-Source Lab: How to Build Your Own Hardware and Reduce Scientific Research Costs details the development of the free and open-source hardware revolution. The combination of open-source 3D printing and open-source microcontrollers running on free software enables scientists, engineers, and lab personnel in every discipline to develop powerful research tools at unprecedented low costs.
After reading Open-Source Lab, you will be able to:
- Lower equipment costs by making your own hardware
- Build open-source hardware for scientific research
- Actively participate in a community in which scientific results are more easily replicated and cited
Examples
See also graphical abstract gallery of HardwareX
Open source scientific hardware is open source hardware used by scientists to do research or for education. This gallery and associated sub-pages are an extension of the book the Open Source Lab, which is about how to make scientific equipment following open source principles.
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The Open-source Lab: How to Build Your Own Hardware and Reduce Research Costs
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NIH 3D Print Exchange - 3D-printable Custom Labware
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3D printable science equipment - 3D print your lab
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3D printable science equipment page 2 - more 3D prints for your lab
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3D printable science equipment page 3 - and even more
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Open Source Optics Library - and your optics lab
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Michigan Tech's Open Sustainability Technology Lab's efforts in open source hardware
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Open-source syringe pump - Parametric library of web-controlled open-source syringe pumps
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GaudiLabs- Swiss Fab Lab making low cost lab instruments
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OpenTrons - Open source fluid handling
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Plasmatron - OpenTrons derivative for semi-automated culture of malaria parasites
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IOrodeo - company making open source science instruments
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Cambridge JIC - 3D printable programmable digital microscope
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Open Source Imaging, NMR, MRI, EMF
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Open Behavior FOSH for animal behavior and cognition
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Openly Published Environmental Sensing Lab at OSU- rain catchment, wind vane, soil moisture, etc.
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Arduino - a class of open source microcontrollers useful for automating equipment
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Raspberry Pi - credit-card sized computer running Linux
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Red Pitaya - open source measurement and control tool
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OpenLabTools - University of Cambridge initiative in open source hardware for science
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Tekla Lab - Berkley's initiative for a library of open source DIY quality scientific lab equipment
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Sensorica - an Open Value Network providing sensing and automation solutions.
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Hackteria - webplatform and collection of Open Source Biological Art Projects
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Open Solar Outdoors Test Field - Solar photovoltaic testing
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Open Source Physiology Lab- 3D printing physiology equipment
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open ephys works on open-source electrophysiology
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Backyard Brains - neuroscience experiment kits for DIY electrophysiology
- DSTat - OS potentiostat
Table of Contents
Preface
- Introduction to Open-Source Hardware for Science
- The Benefits of Sharing - Nice Guys and Girls Do Finish First
- Open Licensing - Advanced Sharing
- Open-Source Microcontrollers for Science: How to Use, Design Automated Equipment with, and Troubleshoot
- RepRap for Science: How to Use, Design, and Troubleshoot the Self-Replicating 3-D Printer
- Digital Designs and Scientific Hardware
- OpenSCAD, RepRap, and Arduino Microcontrollers
- Physics: Open-Source Optics
- Engineering: Open-Source Laser Welder, Radiation Detection, and Oscilloscopes
- Environmental Science: Open-Source Colorimeter and pH Meter
- Biology: OpenPCR, Open-Source Centrifuges and More
- Chemistry: Open-Source Spectrometers and Other Chemical Research Tools
- The Future of Open-Source Hardware and Science
See also
- Quantifying the Value of Open Source Hardware Development
- Return on Investment for Open Source Hardware Development
- Building research equipment with free, open-source hardware
- Open-source colorimeter
- Open-source 3D-printable optics equipment
- Open source science
- Open source 3-D printing of OSAT
- Category:Open source optics
- Free and open-source automated 3-D microscope
- Open-source hardware
- Belt-Driven Open Source Circuit Mill Using Low-Cost 3-D Printer Components
- Open-source hardware for science in Ecuador
- The Rise of Platinum Open Access Journals with both Impact Factors and Zero Article Processing Charges
- Professors Want to Share: Preliminary Survey Results on Establishing Open Source Endowed Professorships
- Canadian professors' views on establishing open source endowed professorships
- Equitable Research Capacity Towards the Sustainable Development Goals: The Case for Open Science Hardware
- Towards open source patents: Semi-automated open hardware certification from MediaWiki websites
- Overcoming Chip Shortages: Low-cost Open-source Parametric 3-D Printable Solderless SOIC to DIP Breakout Adapters
- Open-source 3-D printing materials database generator
External Links with Open Hardware for Science
- Open Source Toolkit Channel on PLOS One
- Tekla Labs - Tekla Labs is creating a library of open source DIY (do-it-yourself) documents that guide in the construction of quality lab equipment.
- Open Source Physiology Lab - this site is devoted to the collaboration and development of 3D printing physiology equipment
- Open Lab Tools - U. of Cambridge - created open source microscope prototype that cost around US$800, whereas conventional microscopes cost between US$15,000 and US$80,000[1]
- Open Neuroscience
- Backyard Brains micromanipulator
- MyMiniFactory 3D printable Lab Equipment
- Sensorica
- Hackteria and more specific on Generic Laboratory Infrastructure
- Gnome X Scanning Microscopy
- Open Selective Plane Illumination Microscopy (SPIM)
- 3D printed scientific equipment in Africa- "TReND in Africa" (Teaching and Research in Neuroscience for Development) is a higher education charity dedicated to improving university level science education and research in sub-Saharan Africa.
- DIYBioprinter
- 50 Cent origami microscope
- open-ephys - open-source electrophysiology
- smart phone to microscope with inexpensive lens
- Nature Methods editorial on OSH
- Labrigger - Labrigger is a source for open solutions for research. Their goal is to accelerate and enable research by reducing the duplication of effort by multiple labs, and offering alternatives to expensive lab equipment.
- Klavins lab open-source mixture controlled turbidostat - University of Washington synthetic biology
- From Jim Haseloff lab:
- SafeCast
- CamBridgeSens
- NIH's 3d printable category for custom scientific labware
- Smoky Mountain Scientific - develops and sells modular, Low cost, open-source instrumentation for electrochemistry, fluidics, and datalogging
- From Gongkai to Open Source - Bunnie studios blog on Chinese views of IP
- Experimenting with open science: Open source in the field and in the lab - Free E-book at Opensource.com
- Open Neuroscience
- openMicroanalysis is a community-driven open source project quantitative electron microanalysis. See: discussion forum. Its goals are to:
- centralize physical quantity databases and algorithms used for quantification
- encourage collaborative work
- provide the necessary building blocks for new projects in microanalysis
- https://open.nasa.gov/ (only software now)
- OS Rodent Operant Bucket
- PLOS Blog - with good list of OS toolkits
- Open and Collaborative Science in Development
- The Cave Pearl Project -uses easy to build Arduino data loggers for hydrology research
- Warwick Open Source Microscope: http://wosmic.org/
- Baden and Chagas' collection at PLOS: http://collections.plos.org/open-source-toolkit-hardware
- OpenFlexure Microscope documented at http://docubricks.com/
- Institute for Development of Advanced Applied Systems and https://github.com/IRNAS/OpenSourceLabEquipment
- Metafluidics - Metafluidics was built to provide a home for digital design files and all of the other information necessary to reproduce or remix a microfluidic device.
- UBORA - The Biomedical engineering open design platform
- Lab on the Cheap
- Australian Centre of Excellence - clip on smartphone 3DP microscope [2]
- Our Sci
Supporting publications and examples in the peer-reviewed literature
Now there are even journals fully dedicated to open hardware:
- HardwareX - Elsevier (started 2016). See HardwareX Gallery on Appropedia
- Journal of Open Hardware- Ubiquity Press starting 2017
Pearce Group
- Pearce, Joshua M. 2012. Building Research Equipment with Free, Open-Source Hardware. Science 337 (6100): 1303–1304. DOI: 10.1126/science.1228183
- Pearce, J.M. (2015) Quantifying the Value of Open Source Hardware Development. Modern Economy, 6, 1-11. doi: 10.4236/me.2015.61001.Free open access to the full text
- Joshua M. Pearce. (2015) Return on Investment for Open Source Hardware Development. Science and Public Policy. DOI:10.1093/scipol/scv034 open access
- Pearce, Joshua M. 2013. Free Innovation Accelerator, Analytical Scientist, Issue #1113, Article #303, December 17th, 2013.
- Pearce, J.M., 2014. Laboratory equipment: Cut costs with open-source hardware. Nature 505, 618. doi:10.1038/505618d
- Joshua M. Pearce "Bone replacements and heart monitors spur health revolution in open source 3D printing" The Conversation, Feb 28, 2014. Reprinted: Live Science
- Joshua Pearce Benjamin Franklin would be proud: hundreds of open-source hardware designs for scientific equipment proliferate - SciTech Connect, June 9, 2014.
- J.M. Pearce, "Commentary: Open-source hardware for research and education", Physics Today 66(11), 8 (2013); doi: 10.1063/PT.3.2160
- J.M. Pearce, 3D-printing your lab equipment—it's cheaper than you think - Elsevier Connect, 2013.
- Zhang C, Anzalone NC, Faria RP, Pearce JM (2013) Open-Source 3D-Printable Optics Equipment. PLoS ONE 8(3): e59840. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0059840 open access
- Anzalone GC, Glover AG, Pearce JM. Open-Source Colorimeter. Sensors. 2013; 13(4):5338-5346. doi:10.3390/s130405338 open access
- Joshua M. Pearce, Share, and We All Grow Richer, The Analytical Scientist, Issue #0213, Article #301 (2013).
- Bas Wijnen, Emily J. Hunt, Gerald C. Anzalone, Joshua M. Pearce, 2014. Open-source Syringe Pump Library, PLoS ONE 9(9): e107216. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0107216 open access
- Joshua Pearce, Guest Blog: Circumventing Science Lab Budget Cuts with Open-Source Hardware. Sparkfun Education Blog. January 23, 2015. Joshua Pearce on Open Hardware for Education --Oomlout
- Joshua M. Pearce. Buckle up for fast-tracked science thanks to open-source hardware. Engineering for Change. June 8, 2015.
- Joshua M. Pearce. Science for All: How to Make Free, Open Source Laboratory Hardware, Scientific American Blog. Dec. 4, 2015.
- Karankumar C. Dhankani, Joshua M. Pearce. Open Source Laboratory Sample Rotator Mixer and Shaker. HardwareX 1, pp.1-12 (2017). doi:j.ohx.2016.07.001 open access
- Oberloier, S. and Pearce, J.M. General Design Procedure for Free and Open-Source Hardware for Scientific Equipment. Designs 2018, 2(1), 2; doi:10.3390/designs2010002 open access
Open Source Scientific Hardware Companies
Organisation | URL | Type of Org | Category/Discipline |
---|---|---|---|
Adafruit | https://www.adafruit.com/ | company | sensors and electronics |
airgradient | https://www.airgradient.com/ | company | environment |
Arribada | https://arribada.org | company | conservation |
Backyard Brains | https://backyardbrains.com | company | neuroscience |
Bristlemouth | https://www.bristlemouth.org/ | open standard, housed by a company | oceanography |
Conservify | http://conservify.org | non-profit | conservation |
Electric Blue | https://electricblue.eu/about-us | cooperative | environmental monitoring, biologging |
EmbryoPhenomics | https://www.embryophenomics.org/ | research group but setting up a company | embryonic development in aquatic animals |
EnviroDIY | https://www.envirodiy.org/shop/ | non-profit | environment |
flyPAD | https://flypad.rocks | company | animal behaviour (drosophila) |
Gaudilabs | https://gaudishop.ch/index.php/product-category/open-science-hardware/ | company | biology |
IO Rodeo | https://iorodeo.com | company | electrochemistry & biochemistry |
IRNAS | https://www.irnas.eu/ | company | open science hardware consulting |
Manetco srl | https://www.manetco.be/ | company | open science hardware consulting |
Neuro Tinker | https://open-neuroscience.com/post/neurotinker/ | project | neuroscience |
Open Acoustic Devices | https://www.openacousticdevices.info | company | acoustics |
Open ePhys | https://open-ephys.org | project with company? | neuroscience |
OpenBCI | https://openbci.com | company | neuroscience |
OpenFlexure Industries | https://openflexure.org | company | microscopy |
OpenQCM | https://openqcm.com/ | company | QCM |
OpenROV | https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/openrov/openrov-trident-an-underwater-drone-for-everyone | oceonography | |
OpenTrons | https://opentrons.com/ | company | lab automation |
OptArc | https://www.optarc.co.uk/ | company | microscopy |
Pocket Science Lab | https://pslab.io/ | project with company? | (environmental) sensors |
Prometheus Science | https://www.prometheus-science.com | company | open science hardware consulting |
Public Lab | https://publiclab.org | non-profit | environment |
RedPitaya | https://redpitaya.com/ | company | open science instruments |
Safecast | https://safecast.org | non-profit | environment |
Sanworks | https://sanworks.io/ | company | neuroscience |
Sci-Bots | https://sci-bots.com/ | company | microfluidics |
Seeed | https://www.seeedstudio.com/contacts | company | sensors and electronics |
Smart Citizen Kit | https://smartcitizen.me/ | sold via Seeed Studio | environment |
Spark Fun | https://www.sparkfun.com/ | company | sensors and electronics |
Tympan | https://shop.tympan.org | company | hearing aids |
UC2 | https://openuc2.com/ | company | microscopy |
Upside Down Labs | https://store.upsidedownlabs.tech/ | company | neuroscience |
Libre Solar | https://libre.solar | company | electronics for renewable energy systems |