Open Source Criteria
Ideal Criterion for Open Sourcing
The following criterion are ideals by which PES will consider possible
funding of the project. Proposed projects need to meet at least a net
positive score in order to be open sourced even on a volunteer basis, using PES'
infrastructure. If the device isnt considered for an open source
project or doesnt meet the criteria, PES may assist in getting the device to
for-profit companies for further development.
- Environmental Impact - risk of damage
to biosphere at either manufacturing or use stages
- Working Device
- Unencumbered - clear permission for PES to
open source
- Device Performance ($/output efficiency)
- Inexpensive to Build
- Resources Required - materials and
tooling availability
- Easy to Comprehend - will be most
important in our first projects, but not as important in later projects
- Category Uniqueness
- Clear Plans (lower in list because open
sourcing can quickly remedy if other factors are strong)
- Safety/Danger to Persons - (explosive, high
voltage, radiation, etc.) during manufacturing, transport, install,
operation (not as important an issue during Tier 2 R&D)
- Competition - other groups working on project
Scoring Projects According to Criterion
Each of the nine OS criterion are assigned a 5-point
scale from -2 to +2, and weighed according to how high the criterion is
listed. Decimal points may be used for scoring when it clearly falls
between two scores, but not into portions smaller than 1/4. So between a
score of 0 and 1 could be 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 only. One situation that would
warrant further demarcation would be when two competing projects are being
compared, to show which surpasses the other for a defining criterion.
Note about Weighing
Point scale for items higher in the criterion list will be weighed extra
according to the following schedule
- = 3.5x
- = 3.25x
- = 3x
- = 2.75x
- = 2.5x
- = 2.25x
- = 2x
- = 1.75x
- = 1.5x
- = 1.25x
- = 1x
Scoring
-2 = highly toxic, scarce resource
-1 = toxic, non-renewable resource (example fossil fuels)
0 = damage to environment is fairly easy to repair
+1 = relatively benign, ubiquitous resource
+2 = completely benign, inexhaustible resource
Scoring:
-2 = none exist, and none are known to have ever existed
-1 = there is a claim to a working device(s) but no evidence to support the
claim
0 = there is evidence to support the claim of a working device, but PES has
not validated it.
+1 = PES has validated the technology and at least one working replication has
been successfully built and validated.
+2 = the device has been engineered for mass production
Scoring:
-2 = the party holding legal right and protection on the technology
unambiguously denies any request to open source
-1 = the party demands extensive NDAs before granting right to replicate
0 = the party expresses interest in open sourcing but has some encumbrances
disallowing full disclosure
+1 = permission has been granted to open source, but it is not writing
+2 = PES has obtained written and signed permission to open source from the
party holding legal right to grant such.
Scoring:
-2 = Sterling quotient is 1/10 or less the performance of the status quo
average
-1 = Sterling quotient is 1/2 or less the performance of the status quo
average
0 = Sterling quotient is comparable to status quo average.
+1 = Sterling quotient is 2 or more times better than status quo average
+2 = Sterling quotient is 10 or more times better than status quo
average
Scoring:
-2 = Prototype costs $20k or more to build.
-1 = Prototype costs $5k or more to build.
0 = Prototype costs $1k or more to build.
+1 = Prototype costs $300 or more to build.
+2 = Prototype costs $100 or less to build.
Scoring:
-2 = At least one of the essential components or tools required is very
difficult to find to buy or to build from scratch, requiring a highly skilled
professional to make, or special high-level clearances to import.
-1 = A key component or tool required is available in one or two countries,
but may be nearly impossible to source in other democratic countries.
0 = One or two of the components or tools required may be difficult to source,
but they can be sourced in most countries.
+1 = One or two of the components or tools required may be somewhat difficult
to source in some countries, but they can be sourced fairly readily in most
countries.
+2 = Components or tools necessary are all off-the-shelf and ubiquitous.
Scoring
-2 = related Ph.D.+, long-time professional experience in field, or genius
required to comprehend
-1 = university education, experience in a related field, or superior
intelligence required to comprehend
0 = college education in a related field or high intelligence required to
understand
+1 = generally intelligent person with scientific interest and average
intelligence could understand
+2 = bright junior high or high school student, or typical lay adult could
readily understand
Scoring:
-2 = Nearly identical to another PES OS project.
-1 = Close to another existing PES OS project.
0 = Somewhat different from other PES OS projects.
+1 = Quite different from other PES OS projects. Fits cleanly into a
category class of its own.
+2 = No other OS project within PES comes close in its mode of operation or
general theory.
Scoring:
-2 = No plans have been composed, and deriving plans would be enormously
difficult by even a highly skilled person
-1 = Either no plans exist or the plans are not complete.
0 = Plans contain information necessary to build device described, but they
are very difficult to follow.
+1 = Plans are adequate, but not presented well.
+2 = Plans are well organized, easy to follow, fully adequate, and
unambiguously lead to a working device when followed.
Scoring:
-2 = very dangerous, volatile, fatal if not carefully contained
-1 = dangerous, can be unstable
0 = reasonable caution is adequate to prevent injury
+1 = keep away from children, but adults can clearly avoid an dangers posted
+2 = no safety issues if the most rudimentary of precautions are followed
PES can create mirror coverage of other open source projects not headed up by
PES. PES coverage will aim for greater clarity of presentation.
Scoring:
-2 = Project is ubiquitous in the FE world and covered very well elsewhere.
-1 = Numerous related OS projects found elsewhere in the FE world, covered
fairly well.
0 = A few related OS projects elsewhere in FE world, could use improvement in
their presentation.
+1 = There may be one or two similar approaches elsewhere in FE world, but
there is significant room for improvement in presentation and quality.
+2 = No other OS project known in the world that comes close in its mode of
operation or general theory.
See also
Index created by Sterling
D. Allan March 21, 2004
Last updated September 29, 2005
visits since Sept. 29, 2005
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