Open source designs could help scale up production in times of need by allowing manufacturers to self-assess whether they're capable of providing additional capacity.
Yes, we assume blueprints have now been shared and that production is scaling up - but it has required a lot of time, effort, communication and bargaining.
That said, open source alone is not a panacea. Questions should be asked of open source designs:
- Do the designs meet regulatory standards for the market(s) they are intended for?
- Is the quality assurance process equally open, so that manufacturers & recipients can verify whether products are authentic and fit-for-purpose?
It looks like the OSV project are aware of these questions and provide their working assumptions and information about work-in-progress on their homepage.
Yes, we assume blueprints have now been shared and that production is scaling up - but it has required a lot of time, effort, communication and bargaining.
That said, open source alone is not a panacea. Questions should be asked of open source designs:
- Do the designs meet regulatory standards for the market(s) they are intended for?
- Is the quality assurance process equally open, so that manufacturers & recipients can verify whether products are authentic and fit-for-purpose?
It looks like the OSV project are aware of these questions and provide their working assumptions and information about work-in-progress on their homepage.