Advanced Manufacturing Re-tools with Open Source (Bit by Bit)

Open source software and open source best-practices have become truly ubiquitous in the business world. Software used to be the new frontier, but open source software can be found leading up to the frontier, at the frontier, and beyond. My experience at CGI America 2012 (a US-focused subgroup of the Clinton Global Initiative) confirmed this.

The focus areas of CGI America span the gamut of challenges and opportunities facing America today: clean electricity and efficiency, clean fuel and transportation, early childhood education, entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, housing recovery, reconnecting youth, small business, STEM education, wellness, and workforce development drew more than 800 CEO-level attendees from across the country to share ideas and to make commitments of concrete progress...

I don't have much day-to-day experience with Advanced Manufacturing, but I was familiar with the work of Eric Von Hippel generalizing open source best practices to manufacturing and industrial processes. He's done such a great job channeling me that I figured I could channel him for a few days. Much to my surprise (and delight), open source was not a new idea at CGI, CGI America, or even the Advanced Manufacturing working group. Numerous speakers during the plenary session mentioned projects using open source across the many topic areas already mentioned...