HardwareX Podcasts

HardwareX

HardwareX provides interviews and deep-dives with scientists and leading experts in open-source hardware. Produced for the journal HardwareX from Elsevier Publishing Company.

  1. JUL 10

    Under the Microscope: An open-source approach to upcycling

    As the right to repair gained political momentum, it obliged companies to share design files and repair guides with every new device. But what about the right to upcycle older technologies? With the power of machine learning, computerised microscopes are increasing efficiency and accuracy in scientific research. However, commercially available microscopes often come with a large price tag, rendering them inaccessible to labs or institutes on a budget. Instead, an interdisciplinary team at UC Santa Cruz in California decided to explore what it would take to turn legacy microscopes into modern devices fit for the needs of the 21st-century research lab. In this episode of HardwareX, Samira Vera and Drew Ehrlich from UC Santa Cruz in California join us to talk about the challenges of microscopy, the promise of machine learning, and how open-source-driven upcycling can benefit research. HardwareX is a peer-reviewed scientific journal about open-source hardware. For more info, visit HardwareX.

    23 min

  2. JUN 16

    Open Hardware Talks: Is Open-source 'Disrupting' MedTech? Ft. OpenFlexure, OSI2. and Openinsulin.

    MedTech has an accessibility problem.  Life-saving medicine, groundbreaking diagnostics technologies and much-needed lab equipment at the hands of profit-driven companies and oligopolies. What are the consequences of betting human health on proprietary markets, and what alternatives can open-source offer? In this Open Hardware Talks, Lukas Winter (Open Source Imaging Initiative), Joe Knapper (OpenFlexure) and Anthony Di Franco (OpenInsulin) discuss challenges in healthcare accessibility, the benefits of open source approaches, and the potential future impact on medical technology, with examples from their succesful open-source projects - an OS low-field MRI system, an OS microscope and an OS protocol for insulin. Open Source Imaging Initiative: Access to MRI systems remains highly unequal between regions, countries and the global north-south divide. Millions of people are denied diagnostic healthcare, and crucial research faces constant roadblocks, as scientists struggle to compare results between closed 'black box' systems. OpenFlexure: Optical microscopes are an essential tool for scientific analysis and the detection of diseases in clinics, yet access to high-performance microscopy is limited in much of the world due to high up-front and maintenance costs and brittle supply chains.  OpenInsulin: Most of the world's insulin supply currently relies on the profit-driven business model of three companies. As a result, struggling economies remain undersupplied, and, when a drug is pulled from the market, patients are left shuffling to find alternatives, as seen with the removal of Levemir by Novo Nordisk from the US in 2023.  HardwareX is a peer-reviewed scientific journal about open-source hardware. For more info, visit HardwareX.

    49 min

  3. MAY 6

    Combatting Chronic Wounds: Elevating patient care in Nepal through open-source technology

    How can we elevate life quality for patients in some of the world's most underserved regions? Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) is a proven and efficient method for treating chronic wounds. This is particularly useful in low- and middle-income countries, where diseases like leprosy, limited healthcare, low infrastructure and poverty combine to make chronic wounds and commonality.  Devices for treatment are costly, overly complicated and not built to serve the regions that need them the most.  Amid frequent power cuts, Dr Suraj Mahajan and Lead Biomedical Engineer Arjan Knulst of the Green Pastures Hospital and Rehabilitation Center (part of International Nepal Fellowship), join HardwareX via connection from Nepal to share the motivation, process and intended impact of WOCA - a fully open-source NPWT device designed in close collaboration with the Delft University of Technology, and with Nepal's citizens in mind. HardwareX is a peer-reviewed scientific journal about open-source hardware. For more info, visit HardwareX.

    17 min

  4. APR 7

    Open Hardware Talks: How To NOT Reinvent the Wheel

    Open Hardware Talks is back. This series invites interdisciplinary experts and advocates to a roundtable discussion on the most relevant topics in open-source hardware. Discoverability: How To NOT Reinvent the Wheel. Open and collaborative development promises to accelerate innovation by allowing individuals and teams to share new ideas, build on top of existing ones and improve designs according to multiple use cases. So, how do you find out what is already out there? And what can make your design easier to discover for the right collaborators? In this roundtable talk, Victoria Jaqua (Open Source Medical Supplies, Global Distributed Tracking), Robin Vobruba (Open Know-How, Open Source Ecology Germany), and Nathan Parker (Open Know-How, Internet of Production Alliance) sit down to discuss the challenges, potential and possible consequences of making an open-source hardware design more discoverable. HardwareX is a peer-reviewed scientific journal about open-source hardware. For more info, visit HardwareX.

    39 min

  5. MAR 12

    Reducing CO2: Using open-source technologies to scale the power of nature

    Much like plants can turn carbon into energy, researchers have been striving to scale the potential of photocatalytic CO2 reduction. Promising as the technology may be, little progress has been made to scale its potential. If the net human-caused CO2 reduction target of 45 % from 2010 levels is to be reached by 2030, the science must be shared. That is the notion that propelled Prof. Dr. Jennifer Strunk and Dr. Nikolaos Moustakas PhD, former research colleagues at the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis (LIKAT), to open-source their High-Purity Gas-solid Photoreactor design. In this episode, we journey to Rostock in the north of Germany to see the reactor in action and to unfold the possibilities and limitations of reducing carbon using the power of nature. HardwareX is a peer-reviewed scientific journal about open-source hardware. For more info, visit HardwareX.

    27 min

  6. FEB 5

    Tagging 6000 Bees: An Open-source System for Species Monitoring

    Did you know that honey bees dance? When honey bees return to the colony from foraging, they share info about their journey with their fellow honey bees by dancing. Besides getting the boogie on, however, little is known about how far honey bees go foraging and what ecological factors impact their journey, e.g. pesticide exposure. In this episode of HardwareX, Entomologist Margarita López-Uribe, Ph.D., specialised in bee species, together with Doctoral Student of Electrical Engineering, Diego Penaloza Aponte, of Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, explain how open-source technologies and collaboration across scientific fields helped pave the way for an automated low-cost monitoring system - and what it takes to tag 6000 bees without getting stung. To explore the specifics, check out the hardware on HardwareX. This episode is researched, produced and edited by Miriam Gradel, Journalist and Media Editor at HardwareX. The music is provided by Kammerin Hunt via Pixabay. HardwareX is a peer-reviewed scientific journal about open-source hardware. For more info, visit HardwareX.

    33 min

  7. JAN 15

    Democratising Air Quality: An Open-source Solution to Filling Data Gaps in the Global South

    The advancement of low-cost sensors has sparked a boom in air quality monitoring devices. From backpack add-ons to citizen bicycles, air quality devices are enabling citizens to get involved in monitoring local air quality. When looking at global air quality maps, however, the data for South America and Africa remain scarce. As primarily consumer-based products, these devices remain subject to demand and supply, limiting access to local air quality and air pollution for those who need them the most. Though the number of open-source designs is growing, incomplete and non-standardised documentation renders many viable designs unusable. In this episode, Colombia-based Engineering Physicist, MSc., Daniel Mauricio Pineda, takes us through the design of a fully documented, open-source air quality monitoring device that allows for remote data gathering and customisation. This episode is researched, produced and edited by Miriam Gradel, Journalist and Media Editor at HardwareX. The music is provided by Kammerin Hunt via Pixabay. HardwareX is a peer-reviewed scientific journal about open-source hardware. For more info, visit HardwareX.

    24 min

  8. 12/09/2024

    Building A Better Mousetrap: Scaling animal wellbeing with open-source hardware

    What if research labs didn't have to reinvent the wheel all the time? Rodents like mice and rats play a pivotal role in neuroscientific research. Through a process known as 'head fixation', scientists surgically implant cannulas and electrodes to measure neurophysiological activity. As mice share roughly 95% of our DNA, head fixation experiments greatly contribute to advancing our understanding of the human brain and diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. While head-fixation is common in many labs, proprietary systems are often expensive and inconsistent. This leads many labs to create ad hoc DIY systems at the risk of causing harm to the research animals and impeding the results. In this episode, we sit down with Zack (Isaac) Weaver, PhD, to explore the ethical and design-specific considerations behind his open-source head gear fixation system. With animal well-being in mind, we explore the multi-stakeholder benefits of open-source hardware in research. Open-source hardware is a collaborative effort. A special thanks to co-authors Michael R. Tadross and S. Aryana Yousefzadeh and all the labs and members who contributed to the design by trying and testing various iterations. This episode is researched, produced and edited by Miriam Gradel, Journalist and Media Editor at HardwareX. The music is provided by Kammerin Hunt via Pixabay. HardwareX is a peer-reviewed scientific journal about open-source hardware. For more info, visit HardwareX.

    23 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

HardwareX provides interviews and deep-dives with scientists and leading experts in open-source hardware. Produced for the journal HardwareX from Elsevier Publishing Company.

Information

  • Creator
    HardwareX
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2025
  • Episodes
    28
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 HardwareX Podcasts
  • Show Website
    HardwareX Podcasts