Paper Number
2196
Paper Type
Complete Research Paper
Abstract
Circular economy is based on extensive cooperation. This requires easily accessible information to involve as many stakeholders as possible. How must technology be designed to make this happen? Open source hardware promises to be a solution. As a formalized model for sharing technical information, it guarantees the necessary information transparency. But what do such approaches look like in practice? Are circular practices considered at the design level? This paper analyzes six open source hardware projects and focuses in particular on the prototype phase, as this is where important foundations are laid. Interviews were conducted regularly over a period of six months and evaluated using a developed open hardware process model. In summary, the six projects not only consider aspects of the circular economy, but also focus on social and ecological dimensions that enable a circular society. The process model proves to be suitable for describing open source hardware prototyping.
Recommended Citation
Brandenburger, Bonny; Voigt, Maximilian; Borgel, Simon; and Busch, Magnus, "Design for Product Sustainability in a Circular Economy — Using the Example of Six Open Source Hardware Projects" (2024). ECIS 2024 Proceedings. 25.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2024/track17_greenis/track17_greenis/25
Design for Product Sustainability in a Circular Economy — Using the Example of Six Open Source Hardware Projects
Circular economy is based on extensive cooperation. This requires easily accessible information to involve as many stakeholders as possible. How must technology be designed to make this happen? Open source hardware promises to be a solution. As a formalized model for sharing technical information, it guarantees the necessary information transparency. But what do such approaches look like in practice? Are circular practices considered at the design level? This paper analyzes six open source hardware projects and focuses in particular on the prototype phase, as this is where important foundations are laid. Interviews were conducted regularly over a period of six months and evaluated using a developed open hardware process model. In summary, the six projects not only consider aspects of the circular economy, but also focus on social and ecological dimensions that enable a circular society. The process model proves to be suitable for describing open source hardware prototyping.
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