Arduino & RepRap – Creating Wealth by Giving it Away

At ICED 11:

Is it possible to grow wealth independently of money? This talk will be from Adrian Bowyer – creator of RepRap, the open-source replicating 3D printer – and from David Cuartielles – creator of Arduino, the open-source microcontroller. Both projects have founded significant and growing industries – and hence significant and growing wealth – by giving away all the data required to build RepRaps and Arduinos completely free. They have also short-circuited most conventional industrial infrastructure by placing the ability to create wealth directly in the hands of private individuals. The presenters contend that this is the way of the future: companies, and – more importantly – those private individuals will be giving away their primary products and making a living on the sideline activities that such donations attract. Software has been heading in that direction for decades. Now hardware is following.