In the last decade, single‐board computers (SBCs) have been employed more frequently in engineering and computer science (CS) at both technical and educational levels. These devices are of importance to educators and students due to several factors such as the versatility, the low cost, and the possibility to enhance the learning process through technology. However, the implications, possibilities, and constraints of these devices in engineering and CS education have not been explored in detail. In this systematic literature review, we explore how the SBCs are employed in engineering and CS and what educational results are derived from their usage in the period 2010–2020 at tertiary education level. For this, 154 studies were selected out of n = 605 collected from the academic databases Ei Compendex, Inspec, and ERIC. The analysis was carried out in two phases, identifying, for example, areas of application, learning outcomes, and students' and researchers' perceptions. The results of the review mainly indicate the following aspects: (1) The areas of laboratories and e‐learning, computing education, robotics, Internet of Things, and persons with disabilities gather the studies in the review. (2) Researchers highlight the importance of the SBCs to transform the curricula in engineering and CS for the students to learn complex topics through experimentation in hands‐on activities. (3) The typical cognitive learning outcomes reported by the authors are the improvement of the students' grades and the technical skills regarding the topics in the courses. Concerning the affective learning outcomes, the increase of interest, motivation, and engagement is commonly reported by the authors.

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DSCBlocks is an open-source platform in hardware and software developed in JavaFX, which is focused on learning embedded systems through Digital Signal Controllers (DSCs). These devices are employed in industrial and educational sectors due to their robustness, number of peripherals, processing speed, scalability and versatility. The platform uses graphical blocks designed in Google’s tool Blockly that can be used to build different Algorithm Visualizations (AVs). Afterwards, the algorithms are converted in real-time to C language, according to the specifications of the compiler for the DSCs (XC16) and they can be downloaded in one of the two models of development board for the dsPIC 33FJ128GP804 and dsPIC 33FJ128MC802. The main aim of the platform is to provide a flexible environment, drawing on the educational advantages of the AVs with different aspects concerning the embedded systems, such as declaration of variables and functions, configuration of ports and peripherals, handling of Real-Time Operating System (RTOS), interrupts, among others, that are employed in several fields such as robotics, control, instrumentation, etc. In addition, some experiments that were designed in the platform are presented in the manuscript. The educational methodology and the assessment provided by the students (n = 30) suggest that the platform is suitable and reliable to learn concepts relating to embedded systems.

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Open-source technological development is well-known for rapid innovation and providing opportunities to reduce costs and thus increase accessibility for a wide range of products. This is done through distributed manufacturing, in which products are produced close to end users. There is anecdotal evidence that these opportunities are heavily geographically dependent, with some locations unable to acquire components to build open hardware at accessible prices because of trade restrictions, tariffs, taxes, or market availability. Supply chain disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this and forced designers to pivot towards a la carte-style design frameworks for critical system components. To further develop this phenomenon, a case study of free and open-source solar photovoltaic (PV) racking systems is provided. Two similar open-source designs made from different materials are compared in terms of capital costs for their detailed bill of materials throughout ten locations in North, Central and South America. The differences in economic optimization showed that the costs of wood-based racks were superior in North America and in some South American countries, while metal was less costly in Central and South America. The results make it clear that open hardware designs would be best to allow for local optimization based on material availability in all designs.

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Disabled People deal with a series of barriers that limit their inclusion, empowerment, wellbeing, and role in society with a special emphasis in low and medium-income countries. One of these barriers is concerning the accessibility and affordability of assistive technologies (ATs) that help to enhance the quality of life of these persons. In this context, this systematic literature review (SLR) analyzes and describes how free and open-source hardware (OSHW) and open software (OSS) are employed in the design, development, and deployment of low-cost ATs. In the SLR process, different ATs were analyzed for disabilities such as visual, mobility, upper body, prostheses, hearing & speaking, daily living, and participation in society. The ATs were designed with diverse OSHW and OSS technologies such as Arduino, Raspberry Pi, NVidia Jeston, OpenCV, YOLO, MobileNet, EEG and EMG signal conditioning devices, actuators, and sensors such as ultrasonic, LiDar, or flex. 809 studies were collected and analyzed from the database Web of Science, GitHub, and the specialized journals in OSHW HardwareX and the Journal of Open Hardware during the years 2013-2022. In the first part of the SLR, the bibliometric trends and topic clusters regarding the selected studies are described. Secondly, the ATs identified with open source technologies, e.g., sensor-based or computer vision-based, are described along with a complete state-ofart about these based on each disability recognized. Finally, the issues and challenges to this approach are explored including technical factors, documentation, government policies, and the inclusion of disabled people in open source co-creation. The purpose of this study is to inform practitioners, designers, or stakeholders about low-cost (frugal) ATs with OSHW and OSS, and thus promote their development, accessibility, and affordability, contributing to benefit the community of disabled people. INDEX TERMS Assistive technologies, disabled people, persons with disabilities, adaptive aids, open hardware, open-source hardware, open-source software, systematic literature review.