OScH in the Wild: Dissemination of Open Science Hardware and Implications for HCI

Piyum Fernando, Stacey Kuznetsov

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Open Science Hardware (OScH) refers to open-source alternatives for proprietary scientific equipment. While the OScH movement aims to reduce barriers for scientific experimentation both in and beyond professional labs, disseminating OScH for widespread adoption proves to be challenging in practice. To this end, we examined real-world practices related to the dissemination of OScH through a two-part study. First, we developed an open science hardware, a DIY incubator, and disseminated it through the Instructables website and maker workshops. In parallel, we interviewed eight open science hardware practitioners from different parts of the world. Insights from interviews together with our own self-reflections revealed how different OScH dissemination modalities serve unique purposes. Our findings also reveal several challenges for widespread adoption of OScH and the importance of collaborations between OScH developers. We conclude by discussing the opportunities for HCI to lower barriers for customization, support internationalization of OScH, and scaffold proactive distributed collaborations between developers and users.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationCHI 2020 - Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
ISBN (Electronic)9781450367080
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 21 2020
Event2020 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2020 - Honolulu, United States
Duration: Apr 25 2020Apr 30 2020

Publication series

NameConference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings

Conference

Conference2020 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2020
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityHonolulu
Period4/25/204/30/20

Keywords

  • diy
  • maker movement
  • open science hardware

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Software

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