Designing an Open-Source Product for Play

Open-source hardware is often associated with development boards, robotics, or industrial tools. But what happens when we apply the same principles of openness to something designed purely for play?

Reelin is an open-source interactive cat toy developed by Ronin Toys that explores openness as a design philosophy rather than a technical feature.

The talk presents Reelin as a case study in applying open-source principles to product design, showing how transparency can extend beyond software into everyday objects.

What it takes to release a physical product as open source

Structuring hardware documentation for builders and contributors

Design decisions that make products easier to repair, modify, and remix

Manufacturing trade-offs when building an open hardware product

Licensing considerations for open-source hardware

Lessons learned from sharing a consumer product with an open community

The session concludes with an open discussion on how consumer products can contribute to the broader open hardware ecosystem.