Why start a company with an open source product?
There are many reasons to start a company with an open source product. Here's a very noble reason by a company making open source robots:
With private funding, Cousins said making a profit isn't the primary objective. The project will be a success if it leads to useful technology, even if someone else ends up making the money, he said.
They are making robots that can do things for people like vacuuming, picking up toys, emptying the dishwasher and parking the car, as well as ones that will help with things like climate change and oceans in trouble:
We have built a boat platform that is designed to support plug-in scientific modules that can test water quality, map fish habitats or survey 'garbage heaps' caused by circular currents in the oceans. Our platform is solar-powered and designed to roam the oceans autonomously for up to a year before returning to base.
And while they may not be about making a profit, they have enough funding to keep a 60 person lab running "indefinitely". I hope they are successful because they are doing cool things! The company? Willow Garage.
