Customizable, 3D-printed, adaptive robotic hand from Yale University.[4] Comprehensive documentation is available but CC-BY-NC license not compatible with the Open-source hardware definition.
Focuses on research and development of open-source software and hardware to be used in a variety of applications including vehicle control and stabilization.
An open-hardware and open-source 3D printed life-size humanoid robot. As software MyRobotLab[17] is used. Comprehensive documentation is available but CC-BY-NC license not compatible with the Open-source hardware definition.
The Poppy project aims at building an Open-source humanoid platform
based on robust, flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. Excellent
documentation[19]
Similar concept as DARwIn-OP with 20 DoF, but larger (95 cm height), fisheye camera, and faster onboard computer. ROS based open-source software. Used by team NimbRo for RoboCup Humanoid TeenSize soccer competitions.
Humanoid robot used for playing soccer and human-robot interaction.
Open Robot Hardware is intended to serve as a resource for efforts
focusing on Open and Open Source mechanical and electrical hardware,
with a particular focus on projects that may be useful in robotics
applications, robotics research and education.[40]
Kinetic art: autonomous spherical robots exhibiting complex motion.
Project last active May 2013. Open software but no comprehensive list of
hardware parts. Not compatible with the Open-source hardware definition.
Artistic Robot: The World First Open-Source Carbon Fiber Transformable 4 Legs Robot under CC-BY-SA It is developed base on the Adafruit Feather Development Platform.
Open-Source
Open source robotics middleware
Middleware are reusable hardware and software components that can be used in many different robotics projects.
Software components
By far the most common standard software are the interconnected,
MRPT
provides developers with portable and well-tested applications and
libraries covering data structures and algorithms employed in common
robotics research areas. It is open source, released under the BSD license.[46] license.
MOOS (lightweight robot framework. Used by MIT and Oxford autonomous vehicles.)
miniBloq
a graphical programming interface that allows to program robotic boards
(Arduino Compatibles) without previous knowledge of programming[50]
Artoo a Ruby microframework for robotics and physical computing
EEROS, an Easy, Elegant, Reliable, Open and Safe Real-Time Robotics Software Framework
LSTS Toolchain is a set of tools and frameworks for the development of Networked Robot Systems.
Hardware components
Many open source robots make extensive use of general open-source hardware (such as Arduino, Raspberry Pi, RISCV) as well as robotics-specific sensing and control components which include:
The Rossum project open-sources certain robotic modules and tools (mappers, robot simulators, encoder designers, ...)
Advantages
Long-term
availability. Many non-open robots and components, especially at
hobbyist level, are designed and sold by tiny startups which can
disappear overnight, leaving customers without support. Open-source
systems are guaranteed to have their designs available for ever so
communities of users can, and do, continue support after the
manufacturer has disappeared.
Avoiding lock-in.
A company relying on any particular non-open component exposes itself
to business risk that the supplier could ratchet up prices after they
have invested time and technology building on it. Open hardware can be
manufacturered by anyone, creating competition or at least the potential
for competition, which both remove this risk.
Interchangeable software and/or hardware with common interfaces.
Ability to modify and fork designs more easily for customisation.
Scientific reproducibility - guarantees that other labs can
replicate and extend work, leading to increased impact, citations and
reputation for the designer.
Lower-cost. Costs of a robot can be decreased dramatically when all
components and tools are commodities. No component seller can hold a
project to ransom by ratcheting the price of a critical component, as
competing suppliers can easily be interchanged.
Drawbacks
For
commercial organisations, open-sourcing their own designs obviously
means they can no longer make large profits through the traditional
engineering business model of acting as the monopoly manufacturer or
seller, because the open design can be manufactured and sold by anyone
including direct competitors. Profit from engineering can come from
three main sources: design, manufacturing, and support. As with other
open source business models, commercial designers typically make profit
via their association with the brand, which may still be trademarked. A
valuable brand allows them to command a premium for their own
manufactured products, as it can be associated with high quality and
provide a quality guarantee to customers. The same brand is also used
to command a premium on associated services, such as providing
installation, maintenance, and integration support for the product.
Again customers will typically pay more for the knowledge that this
support is provided directly by the original designer, who therefore
knows the product better than competitors.
Some customers associate open source with amateurism, the hacker
community, low quality and poor support. Serious companies using this
business model may need to work harder to overcome this perception by
emphasising their professionalism and brand to differentiate themselves
from amateur efforts.
Popularity
A first sign of the increasing popularity of building robots yourself can be found with the DIY community. What began with small competitions for remote operated vehicles (e.g. Robot combat), soon developed to the building of autonomous telepresence robots as Sparky
and then true robots (being able to take decisions themselves) as the
Open Automaton Project and Leaf Project. Certain commercial companies
now also produce kits for making simple robots.
A recurring problem in the community has been projects, especially on Kickstarter,
promising to fully open-source their hardware and then reneging on this
promise once funded, in order to profit from being the sole
manufacturer and seller.
Popular applications include:
