This is a guest post from Fairdevices. At Fairdevices, ‘fairness’ primarily refers to honesty towards the customer through open-source schematics, whereas other projects, such as the [Fair Mouse](https://blog.opensourceecology.de/de/2025/09/maker-faire-reunion-long-live-the-fair-mouse/), tend to associate fairness more with good production conditions than with open source. This difference stems from the different communities, but is also due to the varying stages of development. Whilst the Fair Mouse is already in production, Fairdevices is still at a stage of development where production does not yet play a major role. These differences provide a good opportunity for both projects to learn from one another.
But now, let’s make way for Fairdevices.
In a world where electronic products are thrown away rather than repaired because of minor faults, the Fairdevices initiative takes a different approach: durable, repairable household appliances based on open-source hardware.
Fairdevices therefore pursues the following objectives:
- Durability rather than obsolescence
- Repairability and openness (open hardware)
- Independence from manufacturers and proprietary software
- Accessibility for the community and developers
The vision:
Appliances should remain usable for many years and not be rendered unusable artificially by software locks, a lack of updates or unavailable spare parts. Instead, household appliances should be passed down from one generation to the next. Why shouldn’t a 100-year lifespan become the norm?
The current situation:
Fairdevices is currently a small group of enthusiasts led by Karsten K. in Dresden. Thanks to Benny H., they have managed to design a prototype circuit board and build the first samples. Using rudimentary code on the microcontroller, they have already got a washing machine motor up and running. This control board, intended as a universal controller, is designed to be integrated into many different appliances in the future. It is primarily intended for a conventional washing machine. Controlling pumps and valves, measuring temperature… these are features shared by household appliances ranging from washing machines and fridges to heat pumps.
As always, we now need to focus on documentation and further development.
The initiative would be delighted to welcome more people who enjoy helping out, designing, tinkering, soldering, programming … and so on.
You can contact us by email at info@fairdevices.org or via our LinkedIn profile.
The next tasks involve documenting the circuit as it stands. A development log
You can find more information on our website, which can be collaboratively edited via GitHub. For those of you who are more interested in the mechanical side of things … there’s already a small start on the ‘washing machine damper’ work package.
Apart from electrical faults, this is the second most common cause of faults in washing machines.
