Comments on Humblefacture: SSG: A Framework For More Sustainable Electronics

Awesome Post Dom! Making modular electronics mai...

2010-09-01T06:28:47.255-07:00

Awesome Post Dom!

Making modular electronics mainstream is a fascinating concept. I can imagine buying my next watch, phone, or camera on ETSY, because that is where the leading edge designers sell their creations - I could even start to consider getting 'custom' electronics built for me, or If I was brave- try my own hand at it. Sweet.

To help make this happen faster, I would imagine a 'student design challenge' that uses the SSG framework might create a flood of designs and help kindle the concept. Let's chat about how I can help make that a reality.

Monda- Good point - An SSG product will almost ne...

2010-08-24T14:10:38.764-07:00

Monda-

Good point - An SSG product will almost necessarily (at least for the foreseeable future) be bulkier than a comparable monolithic product.

However, there seems to be a lower bound to the usefulness of compactness - consider the similarity in size of the MotoRazr phone and iPhone, even thought one is much more powerful. I submit that given enough time to develop compact connectors and to optimize the standards / modules which might contribute to such an ecosystem, SSG devices could be comparably compact to monolithic devices, though they might have to sacrifice power for thermal optimization reasons.

In the case of these slightly underpowered SSG devices, I suspect that they would make up for their deficit by having more specifically tailored functionality. By focusing on a few functions at a time, rather than all possible functions, as an iPhone does, such devices might be just as functional, despite their lower power.

In any case, it is a valid concern. I would welcome any suggestions you might have for addressing, or overcoming this shortfall.

I was also thinking about desiging modular electro...

2010-08-22T04:12:08.727-07:00

I was also thinking about desiging modular electronics to minimize waste and costs long-term but I've got a concern: This philosophy is in contrast with compactness which is a strong requirement nowadays. How are we supposed to solve this problem?

Excellent post Dom! TED was lucky to have you the...

2010-08-18T05:16:35.637-07:00

Excellent post Dom! TED was lucky to have you there - see you at the Open Hardware Summit in NYC!