We’re excited to announce we’ll be holding a workshop at CHI 2026 in Barcelona this April (date/time TBA). Read on to learn more and apply by the 12th of February 2026 to be one of an exclusive number of participants.
Are We Doing Enough? Sharing Design and Manufacturing Expertise Across Open Source Hardware Communities
Working with open source hardware designs is often a challenging task. Details about the design and the steps necessary for production may be limited, and bringing the relevant information together often introduces significant educational, institutional and socio-economic barriers. Where explicit support for working with open source hardware design files is provided, its efficacy is difficult to measure. Not only is it often hard for the community to re-create and build on open source designs, it’s also hard for authors of open source projects to know how best to provide suitable help and guidance.
As a research community, could we do more to ensure that information relating to our open source hardware designs is accessible, understandable and effective? Are we using the best processes and channels to empower the widest audience to work with and replicate open source hardware?
This workshop will explore and assess methods of information sharing within and between open hardware communities and their efficacy. We will examine industrial, academic and social spheres to construct a multidimensional image of where help can be found, what help is out there, how it can best be leveraged, and what opportunities exist to enhance access to it.
Learn more and view the workshop schedule on GitHub
Seeking Participants (open now, apply by the 12th of February 2026 via the link below)
Participants are invited to attend this workshop on Sharing Design and Manufacturing Expertise Across Open-Source Hardware Communities. The goal of this workshop is not only to share solutions to common challenges in this space, but also to consider the methods and efficacy relating to how this information is shared. We will ask ourselves if the community doing enough to ensure that information about hardware design and manufacturing is accessible, understandable, effective and utilises the best channels to reach the widest audience. Activities will include mapping and analysis of knowledge, collaborative design of potential frameworks to utilise this mapped information, and wider reflection on behalf of the hardware community.
We are seeking 15 to 30 participants with a range of backgrounds in hardware including hobbyists, makers, academics, industry professionals, educators and other enthusiasts. Participants with experience in designing, deploying or evaluating bespoke hardware are particularly welcome, as are those with an interest in open-source hardware. The goal of the workshop is to foster collaboration and community across all disciplines of hardware and design, so participants should be open to sharing their experiences.
Participants are invited to submit a one-page (ACM single-column format) overview of their experiences in the discipline and their interest in the topic to the EasyChair link AWDE26 (Are We Doing Enough? Education, Information Sharing and Community In Open Source Hardware) This can be purely biographical, can be a position paper, or can describe a hardware design or device previously created. These papers will be hosted on the workshop website for the public to access.