Build to Empower
The Mobility Independence Foundation’s Approach to Open Hardware

At The Mobility Independence Foundation (The MIF), we believe that freedom of movement is a human right.
Our mission is to empower individuals with mobility challenges by providing fully accessible, customizable, open-source designs for durable medical equipment (DME).
“Build to Empower” is our set of principles for hardware design that holds designers and developers accountable to the people who rely on their creations while respecting the original creators’ rights to distribute, share, and continually improve these designs.

The primary goal of Build to Empower is to put control directly in the hands of the people who use mobility devices, enabling users and technicians to adapt, repair, and improve their equipment as they see fit, without unnecessary constraints or corporate interference.
The secondary goal is to support and protect the engineers and innovators who contribute to our mission. While we strive for universal access to open-source DME, we also respect the rights of creators to ensure their contributions remain available, accessible, and attributed.

Principles of Build to Empower
Complete Access to Design Files
Every user should have full access to the design files, schematics, and instructional guides necessary to build, maintain, and customize their equipment. This openness promotes autonomy for users and ensures access to technology that meets the demands of each individual’s lifestyle.
Right to Modify and Share Improvements
Users, technicians, and innovators must be able to modify DME for personal and community use. Additionally, sharing improvements with the community strengthens the collective knowledge base and drives innovation. We uphold non-commercial sharing, while protecting creators’ rights to prevent unfair commercialization of shared designs.
Protection from Corporate Exploitation
Corporate entities have long monopolized the DME industry, making equipment costly and inaccessible for many users. The MIF is committed to resisting corporate monopolization of open designs and preventing large companies from profiting off community-led innovation without compensation. Contributions to our designs by for-profit organizations should align with our mission of accessibility, fairness, and empowerment for all users. We love to partner with manufacturers to help bring these designs to life to help serve as many people as possible by ensuring that our partners respect and contribute to the process through which this research and development was made possible.
Preservation of Authorship
Authorship and attribution are core values of The MIF. Our designs carry the contributions of engineers, designers, and users, and these contributions must be credited. Attribution remains on all modifications and derivatives of our designs, respecting those who dedicate time and expertise to mobility solutions. The Mobility Independence Foundation exists to provide a space for individuals to improve these designs, and to realign the incentives so that innovators are still rewarded for their efforts in spite of the inhibitive patent system.
Freedom from Advertising and Exploitative Features
Devices, products, or software affiliated with The MIF cannot include advertising or any features that exploit the user. Projects may highlight relevant resources or compatible products, but explicit advertising, spyware, or features that turn users into a revenue stream are prohibited.
Respect for User Privacy
Privacy is non-negotiable. All designs must prioritize user safety and respect privacy. Devices designed through The MIF contain no hidden data-collection mechanisms or telemetric devices without transparent, user-initiated consent.

How does “Open-Source Hardware” actually work?
We invite innovators, designers, and users alike to join The MIF’s “Build to Empower” movement and contribute to a world where every individual has the right to access, customize, and improve the devices they depend on.
The Mobility Independence Foundation hosts a repository of open-source designs that any individual can access, modify, or customize however they choose for their own individual needs.
Therefore, the Mobility Independence Foundation requires that all submissions be released open-source and in agreement with open-source principles.
The Mobility Independence Foundation will offer a license to manufacture these designs only to businesses who agree to open-source principles and any fees collected from manufacturing partners will be used strictly to revitalize the Mobility Independence Foundation’s Open-Source Hardware Community through ongoing open-source projects and academic programs that the MIF sponsors and administers.

Build to Empower: Open-Source Project Requirements:
All submissions for hardware designs should meet the following requirements:
- Open-Source:
- The designs must be released open-source, meaning any individual can access the design to utilize, modify or adapt however they choose for individual use.
- Inventory:
- Submissions must include a parts manual with complete inventory of all parts used in the design down to nuts and bolts, including part numbers, description of relevant specifications, where the parts can be purchased in stores or online, and the prices per unit.
- Drawings:
- Submissions must include detailed instructions, schematics, files and digital models so that the end-user could reasonably assemble the device or find a vendor, mechanic, or technician to assist them with any fabrication needs.
- Customization:
- All designs must demonstrate that other designers could alter their design in the event that the original design does not adequately fit the needs of the user.
- Modularity:
- All designs should allow for a range of features and components that the user may select and swap out, or provide that components could be plug and play or upgraded by future designs.
- For example, one user may be comfortable with a joystick for their human interface devices, another may require a pneumatic device, or other ways to interface with the controls. Perhaps you have a new idea?
- Technical Assistance:
- If a component must be assembled or fabricated by an experienced technician, provide detailed instructions on how to research and contact technical experts, hobby shops, and maker’s spaces that can provide services and assist the user.
- Readability:
- All designs must be written as a step-by-step guide for an individual presumed to have no knowledge or technical expertise through the entire process, including where they may find assistance to ensure success.
- Proof of Concept:
- All submissions must be able to demonstrate how an individual with mobility challenges (with reasonable assistance) would successfully use the design and achieve the end product in a reasonable and practical manner.

Open-Source is the Future of Invention
Through this process, we can render obsolete the need for a patent system by providing funding for the inventive process through grants and merit-based awards. Authorship will be preserved and proper citations and credit will still be honored, but the innovative process need not be restrained by vicious patent-enforcement that forbids others from contributing to the design process. Product improvement will be faster, better, and more accessible than ever, because those who face challenges can express their needs, the community can respond promptly, and we can provide the incentive of grant-based awards for those who provide the best solutions, ensuring the march of progress continues.
If you share these principles, we hope that you will join our community and support the Mobility Independence Foundation!