Killed by code

The Software Freedom Law Center highlights the problem of proprietary software used in medical implants. I think in general any system which is controlled by software and where there exists the possibility that a bug could result either in death or in someone being sent to jail then the code should always be independently auditable. Being able to check the code for flaws means that you can have the highest confidence possible that the system will operate as intended, and reduces potential liability issues. If the code has been out there for a while, and many eyeballs have scrutinized it, then it would be much harder for accusations of negligence to be made in the event that a previously undiscovered bug is found.

The situation for robotics is not quite so drastic as for medical implants, but if you have a robot operating in someone's home which is bigger than a Roomba and has at least one manipulator then there exists the possibility of accidents or unauthorized usage due to software errors which could have damaging or fatal consequences, so a similar principle might apply. Large companies may be able to absorb the costs of legal issues arising from software related accidents, but smaller ones probably won't be able to. So if robotics is going to become a larger industry then at minimum at least adopting an "open core" approach may be advisable.