On "Open Source Hardware"

I'd call it free hardware to be consistent. Or you could call it libre hardware, if the gratis angle bothers you.

I think we're living in very interesting times regarding hardware when anybody can draw their own schematics. Of course, manufacture is still pretty expensive but in the future this is likely to also change. 3D printing and circuit printing are encouraging developments.

I think smart people would do well to evaluate the varying free hardware licenses to make sure there is a good way to co-operate. Everybody realizes that to run software one needs hardware. And while an Arduino will not replace your laptop, its descendant one day might.

There is a source code: design files that they release in a format
supported by a nonfree program. Many projects used these to make their
own boards. http://arduino.cc/en/Main/FAQ has more details.

Hardware development usually uses nonfree software and nonfree
components. Practically no FPGA development can be done without nonfree
software and nearly no chips have design sources available. Open source
hardware has some advantages, while it's not sufficient for
freedom-respecting hardware, as "open source" ARM boards with software
blobs show.

I don't use "free" as "gratis", so I use the term "free hardware".

You can use free software such as Fritzing[1] to create your own shields. There is a Fritzing Fab[2] where you can manufacture your own hardware.

For FPGA development there are attempts to write free software[3], but this is currently limited to a blinking LED. The non-free tools need to be replaced one by one. Many FPGA companies are fabless, so they have to sell "Intellectual Property"[4] to be profitable, as they do not sell physical goods. Hardware designs are licensed to Foundries, which do produce the physical hardware.

As hardware cannot be copied, the 4 freedoms do not apply to hardware.

[1] http://fritzing.org/home/
[2] http://fab.fritzing.org/fritzing-fab
[3] https://github.com/Wolfgang-Spraul/fpgatools
[4] http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/not-ipr.html

"As hardware cannot be copied, the 4 freedoms do not apply to hardware."

Should it be called hardware based on free designs?

There's both 'open source hardware' and 'free hardware' definitions (see last year in this forum for links). The open source hardware definition is about zero fee (gratis) use of the hardware design. Free hardware OTOH is more closely aligned with free software. Although AIUI they accept the use of non-free software tools for putting HDL on FPGAs and ASICS until such time as libre FPGA hardware is available in a bootstrapping / parallel development combination.

In his GNU 30th speech RMS encouraged the free software community to work with the free hardware community in the hope of creating a fully free non-traitorous computer platform. He did say free software shouldn't regard that as the only option, reverse engineering proprietary hardware is also needed.

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