Open science hardware

Open hardware is about making the design of physical equipment openly available so that others can study, build, modify, use, and share it. In research, this may include laboratory equipment, field sensors, measuring instruments, or other equipment needed to collect, analyse, or generate research data. What is shared is not only a description of the equipment, but also designs, component lists, instructions, and other information that makes it possible to understand, adapt, and recreate it.

Open science hardware means applying the principles of open hardware in research contexts. This makes it an aspect of open scientific knowledge: openness in research is not only about publications, data, and [source code], but also about the technical tools used to create knowledge. When equipment can be shared, modified, and adapted by more people, research can become more reproducible, more cost-effective, and less dependent on expensive or hard-to-access specialised equipment.

Open hardware is also a question of who has access to research equipment and the possibility of adapting it. Equipment that is available locally and is well documented can make it possible for more researchers, technicians, and collaborators to conduct experiments, develop methods, and adapt instruments to local needs. In this way, open hardware can help broaden who is able to conduct research, which questions can be investigated, and how research infrastructure can be developed and shared.

The opposite to open science hardware is closed or proprietary research equipment, where designs, technical drawings, and technical documentation are not openly available. This makes it harder to understand how instruments work, reproduce research results, repair equipment, combine it with other solutions, or adapt it to new research questions. It can create unnecessary costs and dependence on specific suppliers, especially when they charge high prices for service and spare parts. Open science hardware can therefore strengthen both the reproducibility of research and the long-term management of research infrastructure.

Open science hardware emerged in the 2010s as an alternative to closed or proprietary research equipment, inspired by open source and broader ideas of open science. Today, open science hardware solutions are developed and shared across several fields of research, often by researchers, technicians, teachers, citizen scientists, and other users who need equipment that can be understood, modified, and adapted. When designs, documentation, and experiences are shared, communities can also develop around the equipment, bringing together different kinds of expertise to improve the tools and make them more useful. In this way, open science hardware is not only a matter of equipment, but also of the shared development of research infrastructure.

For a more extensive description, see the UNESCO Open Science Toolkit, particularly the guide on supporting open hardware for open science.