AN OPEN DREAM
There are certainly precedents for open hardware being successful, even if that comes with a few hiccups along the way. One of the better-known projects is Arduino, an Italiandesigned microcontroller range that has its software and hardware designs licensed under Creative Commons. The schematics and designs for the boards have open licenses, even though the Arduino name itself is trademarked. In fact, there was a legal spat between the founders over the trademark, but thankfully that was resolved in 2017. Arduino’s open nature has enabled it to flourish as a core component in the more niche maker area, because it enables smaller specialist hobbyist companies to manufacture Arduinocompatible boards.
Certainly, part of the RISC-V initiative is to deliver an open ecosystem in line with Arduino, alongside the open-source software. An additional motivation is that an open processor is a core building block toward a fully open PC design. Privacy advocates abhor locked-down hardware provided by Intel and AMD, alongside Nvidia, where you have no idea what its internal microcode is actually doing. This extends to cell phone radios, Wi-Fi, and more. They argue that an evil actor—i.e. the Deep State—can force companies to insert any code they wish into these systems. The aim is to have a PC system where every code element is open to scrutiny. If you’re thinking “tinfoil hat,” the NSA was seen intercepting Cisco routers and flashing its own firmware on to them in 2010: https://arstechnica. com/tech-policy/2014/05/ photos-of-an-nsaupgrade-factory-showcisco-router-gettingimplant/