OpenVentures/OpenDesign

= Open Design = As you read this, you are experiencing the product of a multitude of levels of Openness. The internet was built on a platform of Open Source Code, a concept that allowed it to flourish and expand far more rapidly than anybody could have imagined. The Mediawiki which powers this Wiki is also Open Source, and has resulted in the largest collaborative work in the existence of humankind, Wikipedia. The section below has been divided into two sections, Open Source Software and Open Designs. They represent the Yin and Yang of the Makers planet.

Open Source Software
The possibilities with Open source software are almost unfathomable. Anything can be created using OSS (Open Source Software). There are literally millions of OSS examples to discuss, but for now let's start with a bit of a tale on how OSS came to be.

The GNU Community has written an interesting piece differentiating between Free and Open Source Software, and even go so far as to argue why Free is better than Open Source when it comes to software. They discuss the complications of the world 'free', and argue that 'free' should be present as used in 'free speech' rather than 'free beer'.

Below are some examples of OSS that have made an impact or may make an impact in the future, as seen from the perspective of a venture analyst. Please Add your submissions here to grow our list! If you need some suggestions on where to start, here is a nice page with many programs (some which you may already be using) that are Open Source.

Linux/Unix
Surprisingly, the Linux kernel has endured through multiple computer generations, and has evolved with the technological paradigms. The kernel at the core of Linux allows users to go deep in the customization of their operating system, and lives on today in the majority of mobile devices worldwide (most commonly as Android, another OSS platform).

Educational Perspective:

Linux continues to be relevant to educators for many reasons. Using distros (linux distributions) allows for students to customize their computing experience extensively, and encourages a deeper understanding of how a computer operates. It also provides a great platform to keep older machines running well, which can provide huge cost savings.

Market Analysis:

Linux machines constitute 98% of the world's super computers, the majority of servers, and also dominates in the running of cloud based services. If you were to include Android, Linux constitutes 75% of the OSs shipped yearly. In education, there have been initiatives in France to use older hardware longer through employing Linux. While Linux itself may be on the wane, it still holds value in the road to understanding technology.

Bootstrap
Originally an internal project at Twitter, you have likely come across products which have directly employed Bootstrap. It is a front end web development framework, meaning it helps people build websites. If you have ever experienced a website that responds to your screen size instantaneously, there is a good chance you are seeing Bootstrap being implemented.

Educational Perspective:

Bootstraps provides a comprehensive platform for students to build responsive websites using the LESS framework. This means that students can create high quality sites that are made for all types of browsers without having to do a lot of complicated programming. It is far more technical than building a Wordpress site, but also allows for far greater exploration of the basic languages of the web: Javascript, HTML, and CSS.

Market Analysis: 

Currently, 16.3% of the top million websites employ bootstrap. While Bootstrap has plateaued in terms of usage, the release of Bootstrap 4 will likely lead to further development using this platform. Only 2.3% of the entire web uses this platform, but due to the technical nature of the platform that is already pretty substantial. Having a good understanding of bootstrap means that you are capable of essential web design languages.

Blender
This Open Source Software allows the user to create 3D environments, which can then be used for animations and video game design. Originally it started as the open source alternative to 3D Studio Max, but over time the community grew and they developed something unique and highly usable. It has been designed to work on a variety of desktops, and brings industry standard animation to the masses.

Educational Perspective:

Blender has a very steep learning curve, but has found its way into many academic institutions despite this. It is often through the initiatives of the students that Blender has been applied for assignments and school related activities. Students have already created some amazing animated works through Blender, as well as designed video game environments. Now, Blender is being used for 3D printing as well, to great effect.

Market Analysis:

With such widespread application, Blender will remain relevant for a while to come. It also is a key tool for two emergent technologies: 3D printing and Virtual Reality. The platform continues to grow its user base and refine their processes. From a glitchy Open Source alternative to a mainstream industry standard, Blender has proven the power of the Open Source Software Movement.

Moodle
This Learning Management System has been used in both K-12 and post-secondary schools for many years. It is "community driven" and "globally supported" as self-professed on the Moodle website. Depending on the school, this software is usually used for blended learning or e-learning environments.

Educational Perspective

The open source nature of the software enables organizations to customize Moodle to their needs. This either requires funding or technical knowledge to facilitate the changes. Many organizations would rather purchase more packaged Learning Management Systems with traditional support systems.

Market Analysis

As of 2016, Moodle already has a substantial piece of the Canadian (52%) and US (23%) LMS markets according to one source. Blackboard, another major company in the LMS market, recently formed an official partnership with Moodle. Both Moodle and Blackboard has seen their market shares either decline or become stagnant over the past 5 years. This partnership may have been a strategical attempt to change the recent trend.

Open Design
There are few things as exciting as the potential behind Open Design. The model is fundamentally the same as that of Open Source Software: The content you create is open, meaning others outside the organization that conceived the idea can grasp how it works and how they can interact with the given concept. In this area, many interesting projects are coming to fruition

Hyperloop Alpha
The Hyperloop is a new form of transportation, which incidentally has not come about since the invention of the helicopter. The Hyperloop concept was originally proposed by Tesla Motors and SpaceX, and shortly after the concept plans were made public with a clear message: take what we have learned and build this thing. From this document released in 2013 three companies have started working on the Hyperloop in earnest.

Educational Perspective:

The Hyperloop has engaged many dreamers and makers globally, and has been taken up by many of the top universities as a design challenge for their students. Because of the availability of the original materials, the idea has been scrutinized and run through many different simulators, and a diverse group of people have had the chance to look at the proposal and help improve on the best estimates. The upcoming Hyperloop competition in August will have 120 student teams from around the world competing.

Market Analysis: 

The Hyperloop is a prime example of how an open source concept can be commercialized. The three commercial ventures that originated from this idea have developed interesting alternatives. One is traditionally funded through venture capital, another developed into a collective of part time engineers working for future stock options, and the third is working through the University of Toronto to build a scale model to attract further capital.

Open Source Ecology / Open Building Institute
Open Source Ecology (OSE) came on the radar in 2012 when the founder, Marcin Jakubowski, presented his concept for an open source global village construction kit. The idea was to create a set of tools that would allow anybody to build some fundamental machinery that is needed to construct a village. From brickmaking machines to tractors, the concept was to create a set of modular machines and share the design plans with everybody. Currently, Open Source Ecology has moved into the architecture side with the "Open Building Institute" (OBI), which aims at created houses that are ecologically friendly, economically feasible, and help build a community of practice.

Educational Perspective:

OSE and the OBI both have stated a desire to create learning centres around their practice. They wish to change the way that construction is undertaken globally, and ensure that best practices are shared and expanded upon. They are currently looking for seed funding through Kickstarter. As they expand their scope, communities will have easy access to a host of modular design ideas, and valuable knowledge in how to build ecologically friendly houses will be open and readable by all.

Market Analysis:

There are really no other groups quite like this one. While their nascent standard may compete with groups like LEED in the future, there are no other Open Source Modular designed architecture groups nor Open Source Construction kits. However, there is also a huge hurdle for these guys... trying something new means that you really need to find the early adopters. Based on Generation Squeeze, this current generation no longer can afford to enter the housing market. This has already led to many young people creating tiny homes, and modular design such as that the OBI claim to have mastered will be very appealing indeed.

The Hovalin
Intro Here... Educational Perspective:

Market Analysis:

Links:

The Hovalin - Opensource.com

Makerbots Thingiverse
| Makerbot Thingiverse is a Brooklyn-based hacker space that provides an open design platform where users can share and download 3D files and has evolved to be the world’s largest 3D printing community. The Thingiverse database holds downloadable designs. Members can access the user-created Thingiverse universe 3d models can be viewed for inspiration and downloadable designs can be edited, customized and printed using a 3d printer. The Thingiverse community encourages user’s designs to be licensed under the Creative Commons license to foster an open and free environment for them to share their designs.

Educational Perspective:

The future of Makerbot Thingiverse is poised to continue to develop new apps that drive broader accessibility and grow user’s adoption of the technology. Jonathan Jaglom, CEO of MakerBot believes the creation of a new development API will foster an open approach to user created designs that will create greater possibilities for apps and services. MakerBot also offers dedicated resources for educators on Thingiverse, this continued open approach to the physical creation of student ideas will serve to reinforce the benefits of a S.T.E.A.M., (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), approach to critically thinking in the classroom.

Market Analysis:

There are reasons why Makerbot and Thingiverse has become the worlds largest 3d design community, with over a million uploads of user created designs and over two million downloads, this 3d printing community appeals to a wide variety of sectors from educators, engineers, small scale manufactures and designers, it has become the go to place for 3d printing enthusiasts. With such a strong user base, the future appears bright for the open source especially in the light of new development apps for content creation.

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STEAM_fields

http://www.makerbot.com/blog/2016/04/11/thingiverse-developer-program-invites-community-to-shape-the-future-of-3d-printing

http://www.makerbot.com/blog/2015/10/29/celebrating-a-maker-milestone-1-million-uploads-on-makerbots-thingiverse