Open Hardware
Building, Hacking, Shipping: Open Hardware for the Next Generation
Open-source hardware is a vital but still underrepresented part of the FOSS ecosystem. While open-source software has gone mainstream, open hardware faces unique challenges around cost, manufacturing, sourcing, documentation, licensing, and distribution.
But open hardware in India is at an exciting point. More students are designing their first PCBs, more indie makers are shipping kits, more collectives are forming around building things, and more ambitious open hardware products are reaching global audiences.
This year, we want to shift the focus toward the next generation of builders. The goal is simple: make the devroom a place where people leave thinking, “I can build something too.”
What We Hope To Do
- Showcase real-world open hardware projects being built in India and beyond
- Give makers, students, and first-time builders a platform to present their work.
- Discuss the practical challenges of building and shipping hardware openly.
- Share knowledge around PCB design, embedded systems, fabrication, manufacturing, licensing, and documentation.
- Strengthen the Indian open hardware community through collaboration and networking.
- Help the next open hardware project find its first users, collaborators, or contributors.
Join us in Hall 3 on Day 1 ! Here's our schedule:
| Time | Session |
| 10:00 AM | Welcome to the Open Hardware Devroom |
| 10:05 AM | Build your own open source keyboard with ZMK/QMK |
| 10:30 AM | CNC4Everyone - How we built a CNC machine for every classroom, college and makerspace |
| 11:00 AM | My zero-to-hero journey deploying a fiber-optic and wireless community mesh |
| 11:30 AM | Minnow: An Open Platform for Ground Swarm Robotics |
| 12:00 PM | Building Open Source Music Hardware in India - Tarab Instruments |
| 12:30 PM | Panel Discussion - Makers, Hackers & Hardware: Where Do We Go From Here? |
Devroom Managers
Balu B and Amit G are core members of Absurd Industries, an open hardware community in Bangalore dedicated to encouraging more people to build things. Since 2023, we've held monthly maker meetups, bringing together hardware engineers, students, hobbyists, artists, tinkerers, and first-time builders.
At our core, we believe in lowering the barrier to open hardware. We want more people not only to learn about hardware but also to actually build, modify, document, publish, and ship it.
Communities Involved
This devroom is organized with involvement from Absurd Industries, PCB Cupid, Ampere Works, Whybit, Sillycuts, Mecha, Makerville, Disarray Research, and contributors from the broader Indian open hardware and FOSS ecosystem.
