Introducing the Phoenix Open Hardware Project
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Hardware is intrinsically different from Software in that it can't be "copied" 
infinitely at zero additional cost. But hardware designs are very much like
software; the "design" is simply stored as text/data files to be processed by
specialised tools (like the tools in the gEDA toolchain). The pervasive connectivity
offered by the Internet makes it possible for people to share designs with each
other and make improvements - and this has given birth to the Open Hardware
movement.

Open Hardware projects range in complexity from those involving very simple
8 bit microcontrollers to sophisticated signal processing systems. The Phoenix
project, initiated by the Inter-University Accelerator Centre, New Delhi, is a good
example of an Open Hardware project which has started gathering momentum. 

The original objective of the Phoenix project was to improve laboratory facilities
in our Universities. Most Science experiments (especially Physics) require the 
measurement of physical quantities (like temperature, speed etc). A simple 8 bit
microcontroller (like the Atmel Atmega16) interfaced to various sensors and powered
by appropriate software can serve the function of sophisticated equipment at a fraction
of the cost.

Phoenix Internals
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The Phoenix interface device is a small PCB with an Atmel Atmega16 at its heart and 
a few other supporting chips. C code running on the microcontroller (compiled using
GCC) reads in commands coming over the serial port (which is interfaced with the 
serial port of a PC) and performs the required actions. Commands are issued from the
PC and the response from the Phoenix box is processed using the Python programming language
which is exceptionally easy to use for beginners.

Community Involvement
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The Phoenix interface device is in use in a number of colleges all over India. The Inter-University
Accelerator Centre regularly conducts workshops for teachers where they learn how to use the
device for conducting innovative science experiments. Because the hardware design is Open
and the software is licensed under GPL, there is plenty of scope for students, teachers and
hobbyists to get involved. More information is available at the Phoenix home page at

http://nsc.res.in/~elab/phoenix


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Pramode C.E