As a project FOME intends to work to develop an open source vehicle electronics and controls ecosystem that it capable of controlling up-to-date engines, chassis components and e-motor systems.
There is a growing need for a project that is able to provide contorllers and software that is under the control of the user and not big tech. We have reached a situation where subscription models are becoming the norm and manufacturers are trying to shut users out of their own vehicles.
This is increasingly becoming a problem in the motorsport and research world as well as simply from the need to repair vehicles.
In order to meet this intention FOME has at it's heart the following guiding principals:
Standards - it is the goal of FOME that where reasonably possible the best care will be taken to meet automotive standards, follow industry best practices and provide hardware and software that is fit for purpose.
Standardisation - FOME intend to set down guidelines that can be used to produce FOME compatible hardware, help guide the development of software and overall ensure that everything in the ecosystem will play nice together and be as compatible as possible.
Modularity - Standardisation leads to the ability to have modular hardware and systems that allow for easy replacement or upgrading of individual parts within the ecosystem. FOME will strive for the greatest modularity possible so that where reasonable there is a viable repair or upgrade path.
Quality - FOME was founded with the intention of providing the best quality possible for users and developers, this means avoiding shortcuts, not being tempted to sacrifice quality for the sake of costs and to reject the race to the bottom seen with other open source hardware.
This will mean that FOME compatible hardware is not the cheapest but it will always be hardware that you can trust.
Incremental growth - FOME believe that growth should be controlled and directed towards the best use of resources. The project aims to meet this by taking a measured approach when adding to the project, this may mean that feature development is slower than it could otherwise be but that the features meet our standards and provide the best possible functionality.