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Why open-source power electronics? - Manifesto -

A project log for DIY Power for all - OwnTech

A fully open-source digital power electronics technology framework for fast prototyping switch-mode power supplies

jean-alineiJean Alinei 10/05/2022 at 15:520 Comments

As we studied the problem we realized that energy access was not an exception. Everywhere we turned people needed to electrify something and were struggling with power electronics technology access. Prototyping motor control, battery charging or simply powering a lab was always done via a black box that no one can understand or repair.


Education

In the case of power electronics, the issue of technology access is multidisciplinary. Power engineers need to understand power switches, classic electronics, EMI, EMCs, thermal dissipation, filters, control theory, software design, industrial informatics and IoT. The sheer amount of knowledge necessary to properly create a power converter is mind blowing. 

This intrinsic complexity push teachers to teach it through theory rather than from practice. Yet we think that learning by doing is thousands times better as it develops know-how together with the great feeling of being useful for a greater cause.

In the meanwhile, society is rushing out shift away from fossils and is turning toward de-carbonized electricity as tomorrows main energy supply. That implies massive numbers of highly trained personnel to take up the challenge. Thus - we need an affordable educational tool to learn power electronics by doing -

Open Innovation

Everywhere we turned people needed to electrify something and were struggling with power electronics.  Prototyping motor control, battery charging or simply powering a lab was always done via a black box that no one can understand or repair. As such, we learned that technology and knowledge access is as important as the energy access. And since that we firmly believe that fighting the black box effect will permit the emergence of spontaneous grassroots innovation in various fields such as:

Toward a global movement ?

Lets stand together to create a decentralized open knowledge center ! Lets create joints device that will cover local needs and fight back the black box effect. From this open framework, us engineers will have the capabilities to think solutions that can be

A light in the night
A light in the night

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