Chris Anderson Talks to PSFK About Open Source Technology

When we were in SF a couple of months ago, we visited with Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief of Wired Magazine and author of The Long Tail. One topic he brought up during our conversation is something that we’ve been thinking about - and seeing a lot of - ever since: open source innovation. We caught up with Chris to hear more of his thoughts on open source, DIY hardware, and the people and organizations leading the way in this brave (relatively) new world.

When we were last looking at your Longtail site, we noticed the link to your personal project - the DIY drones. One moment you’re developing economic theory, the next you’re hacking flying technology together. What got you into this? Is there a big community?

This started as something to do with the kids with Lego and toy planes, and then spiraled wildly out of control. Now it’s a global open source aerial robotics community. Big? No. But we get a couple thousand people to the site every day and around 150k page views a month. Super niche, but super focused—you either totally get it or you don’t have any interest at all. It’s the Long Tail of social networks!

Isn’t creating something that flies, kind of hard to do? How do you create parts like the circuit boards?

By and large, we don’t make planes—we just buy pre-made RC planes and do a “brain transplant”, adding onboard computers and sensors to make them autonomous. We create circuit boards using free PCB-design software and upload the files to Chinese fabs that send us back the finished boards in a week for the price of two cups of coffee. It’s AMAZING. Here’s more: [link].

What do you think the impact of open source technology could be?

We don’t yet know. It feels like open source software in the early 90s, before Linux, Firefox and the other killer apps that showed how powerful that model is. Is the Firefox of open source hardware going to emerge from Google’s Android phone? The Arduino processor project (which we’re contributing to)? Something like the OLPC? It’s too soon to say.

Who is inspiring you in this space right now?

I think that Tim O’Reilly and the crew at Make Magazine/Maker Faire/Makezine are leading the way with a great energy and a spirit of adventure. They’ve made open source/DIY hardware seem as cool and subversive as the punk movement of the early 80s. Soldering irons are the new electric guitars!

Thanks, Chris!