The Eyebeam OpenLab: R+D for the Public Domain

from research.eyebeam.org:

The Eyebeam OpenLab is a home for artists, engineers and hackers pioneering open source creativity. The first initiative of its kind, the lab is focused entirely on incubating experimental technologies and media that directly enrich the public domain. With funding from the MacArthur Foundation and others, Eyebeam has awarded fellowships to a talented, interdisciplinary group of OpenLab fellows who work in a new facility equipped with a laser cutter, 3D printer, workstations, web servers, and electronics workbenches. These fellows are already generating ideas and building new projects, extending the innovative work of Eyebeam R&D.

Their projects range from things like the wave bubble, which is a portable wifi, cellphone and bluetooth jammer, the minty boost, an altoids tin charger for portable usb devices, as well as software based feats like personal Kyoto, which allows New York ConEd customers to "to track their residential or commercial electric usage and work towards the goal of decreasing that usage."

The group is also behind projects like the Graffiti Research Lab (most notably responsible for the creation of LED throwies, among other things) as well as the contagious media project.

Normally when a group is responsible for dozens of accutely innovative new technologies on both the hardware and software end of things they tend to... how do I say... go to market. You know. Develop a product. Recruit millions in venture capitol. Etc. Etc.

The folks at eyebeam, working in a slightly more uplifting environment than your traditional suit and tie breed, work under a different set of rules:

All work created within the OpenLab will be widely distributed and freely available under open licenses and without patents. All code will be released under GPL, media will be released under Creative Commons, and hardware projects and processes will be fully documented released in the form of Do-It-Yourself instruction sets.

If you're unfamiliar with their work, head over to their website and check them out.