[p2p-research] help please - open source hardware bottlenecks

[Tere Vaden]

Dear all,

I'm requesting your help. The eCars Now -project  
(http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/ecorolla-running/2009/09/04) is  
entering a new phase. A prototype is ready and some sort of "mass  
production" has to be started next. The problem is: this implies Open  
Source Hardware production (especially with regard to the electronics;  
the motor & batteries can be bought ready made). Now the community  
needs to make some decisions about the road to be taken. One  
possibility is to keep all the interfaces of the electronics open and  
hope to attract several companies as producers, another possibility is  
to outsource the electronics development to a company that probably  
will want to close some parts of the boxes. Both possibilities contain  
severe risks and potential for failure. In order to make a better  
informed decision, the community wants to prepare some sort of list or  
table of comparison between the differences between os software and  
hardware development. It would also be very helpful to know examples  
of failed and succesful open hardware projects. (Like, e.g., why  
OpenMoko is not taking off). I made a quick try:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2109396/OpenSourceSoftHardComparison_eCars.pdf
All comments and input are very welcome! Especially insights with  
regard to the two possible roadmaps.

Best,

Tere