BugLabs: Open Source Hardware

Last night I want to the first public showing of what BugLabs will offer the gadget world this Fall.

So what is BugLabs?

Mashable has a vague introduction: “a stealthy startup with an audacious aim: to do for consumer electronics what open source, “web 2.0,” XML, APIs and the rest did for
the web.”

I learned exactly what Mashable meant at the event last night.

What has open source, “Web 2.0,” XML, etc done for the Web? Ten years ago if I wanted to get the news, I’d turn to CNN, ABC, the New York Times or some other major media outlet. That is obviously not the case anymore. The low cost and ease with which we can make websites has decentralized the sources from which people get their news. And that is what powers the Web (and what motivates most people to blog).

Today, if I want a new gadget I rely on Sony, Phillips, Panasonic, etc etc. This is a result of economics, not brand loyalty. It’s simply too expensive for other people to break into the gadget market — it requires factories, transporation, warehouses and more.

BugLabs is looking to change that by dramatically bringing down the cost of R&D, manufacturing, etc. What they will sell (for the “hundreds of dollars”) is a piece of hardware that they call a “Bug” — a base, which can be adapted to include any number of modules. The modules, like a GPS device, a camerae, an LCD screen, a keyboard, can snap into the base device like Legos. The base can hold four modules at a time, creating all kinds of combination (consumers will develop the modules, which means the possibilities are limitless).

(more after the picture: Note: Picture via MakeBlog: The final product will be encased in plastic and look like a consumer product. In this picture, however, you can see the base gadget and two modules plugged in on top of that.)

Example: Jeremy Toemen (an old blogger friend who I’ve known for three years, but had never met in person) was showing a
base that had a camerae and a motion detector plugged in. With a simple software addition you have a security system that will take a picture of anyone that walks by your house and upload it to Flickr. Or — stick it by the baby carriage and the grandparents can get second-by-second updates.

The modules themselves pop in and out of the base like Lego blocks, so they can easily be mixed and matched and combined
with software to do various things, including things that the people at Bug Lubs haven’t thought of yet. In fact — that’s what they are betting on. In their structure everyone develops a product.

They aren’t selling a gadget — they are selling the means to make your own gadget. If they are able to get a community of hackers and engineers behind them, it could the base for a number of cool gadgets. None of the open source gadgets are going to outsell a phone or a DVD player, but if the longtail holds true, BugLabs will be serving a variety of specific markets that are undeserved and potentially very large: The customizable gadget.

It reminded me a bit of CrowdSpirit — a similar open source hardware initiative in Europe which we have covered at NewAssignment.Net,
but I think BugLabs has a bit more potential. From what I understand
CrowdSpirit is asking developers to start from scratch and build up from there. That might be asking a bit too much of an open source community — especially considering this is bringing open source practices and principles into a new arena (hardware). I like that Bug Labs provides the initial base/interface and when they launch (in the Fall) they will have about 10 modules already developed.

But just as Facebook’s API’s have zoomed to the thousands, BugLabs has ideas for 80 or so modules and again — they are betting that the open source community will venture into areas they simple haven’t thought of yet. It will be interesting to watch.

For more info check out Jeremy’s post which includes links to other blog posts about the event last night.