Towards FAIR Principles for Open Hardware

Abstract: The lack of scientific openness is identified as one of the key challenges of computational reproducibility. In addition to Open Data, Free and Open-source Software (FOSS) and Open Hardware (OH) can address this challenge by introducing open policies, standards, and recommendations. However, while both FOSS and OH are free to use, study, modify, and redistribute, there are significant differences in sharing and reusing these artifacts. FOSS is increasingly supported with software repositories, but support for OH is lacking, potentially due to the complexity of its digital format and licensing. This paper proposes leveraging FAIR principles to make OH findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. We define what FAIR means for OH, how it differs from FOSS, and present examples of unique demands. Also, we evaluate dissemination platforms currently used for OH and provide recommendations.