DESIGN
EW: OPEN SOURCE
The most transformative technologies of the past few decades have one thing in common: open-source foundations. The World Wide Web, launched as an open project, reshaped communication, business, and knowledge-sharing. Linux, an open- source operating system, became the backbone of the Internet, powering millions of servers, supercomputers, and embedded systems. Today, RISC-V is bringing that same disruption to semiconductor design, proving that open architectures can compete with proprietary giants. Will the next valuable electronics companies be open-source?
I f open-source software has driven toward open hardware is already underway. Companies that embrace this shift will define the next wave of industrial innovation. Those that don’t will face the same fate as others before them – products that become obsolete too fast, rising production costs, and an inability to keep up with changing market demands. innovation in every industry, why should hardware be any different? The shift Take VanMoof as an example. The Dutch e-bike company once promised to revolutionise urban mobility but locked its products into a proprietary system that only it could service. When the company
declared bankruptcy, owners of these expensive e-bikes were left stranded. Now, under new ownership, VanMoof is outsourcing repairs to third parties. The takeaway is clear – openness is not a weakness. It is a long-term strategy for resilience. The same lesson applies to electronics. Statista predicts the global electronics market will reach $536.30 billion in 2025, growing at a CAGR of 7.35% through 2029, with three billion users worldwide. Despite this growth, supply chain disruptions, rising costs, and regulatory pressures are forcing companies to rethink their approach. Open- source hardware provides an alternative.
By Mateja Lampe Rupnik, CEO, Red Pitaya
36 ELECTRONICSPECIFIER.COM
Powered by FlippingBook