OrcBoard Community FAQ

What is the OrcBoard?

The OrcBoard is an inexpensive yet flexible controller enabling embedded systems to easily interface with a wide variety of actuators and sensors. It was developed by Edwin Olson for use in the MIT Maslab Robotics Competition. It is now also in use by MIT's 6.188 Robotics Systems and Sciences course, MIT's cornerstone robotics class. It also used in MIT's Mechanical Engineering course "Introduction to Robotics". The OrcBoard is the product of over five years of incremental evolution and refinement; today's OrcBoard is reliable and feature-filled. This site describes version 5, known as Orc5.

The OrcBoard typically acts as a slave, carrying out tasks as specified by an external host, allowing you to pick a host that matches your requirements. Usually, this is a laptop, single-board computer, or PC104 stack. Alternatively, the hardware can be used in a self-sufficient capacity by reprogramming the on-board CPU, though its resources are obviously more limited.

The OrcBoard schematics, firmware, and library code are all made freely available under the terms of the GPL license.

What can the OrcBoard do?

OrcBoard features:

• USB (11Mbps) connectivity to host computer
• Four high current (>1A continuous), bi-directional motor drivers, each with a dedicated enable, and current sensing capability.
• Four channels of quadrature phase decoders
• A total of 24 I/O pins:
  • 16 A/D ports, each with 12 bit hardware resolution (13 bit in differential mode). Support programmable low-pass filters for higher resolution.
  • 24 digital ports, dynamically switchable between input and output
  • 8 Futaba-style servo controllers (full 16 bit PWM). 3 of these support current-sense.
  • Up to 12 SRF04-style ultrasound rangers (only one can fire at once)
• Four 400kbps I2C expansion ports. Orcboard can be used as a host-to-I2C bridge.
• OrcPad Connector
• Designed to support in-system battery recharging using inexpensive, standard 12V lead-acid batteries.
• Supports single power supply (one battery for both motors and logic)
• Supports input voltages from 10V-24V. Has internal 5A, high efficiency 5V switching power supply.
• Fully reprogrammable, customizable, open-source firmware using GNU toolchain.
• Extensive expansion capability: I2C and SPI bus, ATMega128 processor and Altera FLEX 6000 FPGA can be reprogrammed to support different applications. The OrcBoard can be expanded to include a 32KB SRAM and a 256KB FLASH.
• Measures 4.5" x 3.6" x < 0.75", with #8 mounting holes.

The OrcPad is a key accessory to the OrcBoard, providing a user interface:

• 128x64 monochrome graphical LCD with backlight
• 2-axis analog joystick
• Three push buttons, including an "Emergency Stop"
• Fully reprogrammable, customizable, open-source firmware using GNU toolchain
• Measures 4.5" x 2" x < .85"

Where can I get an OrcBoard?

We do not have a manufacturing partner (yet!), so you have a couple options.

1. You can make your own; download our gerbers and send them to a prototyping company such as Advanced Circuits. Everything you need to build a kit is available on this website.
2. If you would like to manufacture and sell OrcBoards, please contact us! We will negotiate the use of the OrcBoard/OrcPad trademarks, and possible placement on this website.
3. You can purchase one from Edwin Olson, who has a limited number available. These are assembled and tested, but are sold without warranty or support (aside from free and unlimited use of this site!). The cost is $350.

Report problems to Edwin Olson, eolson@mit.edu. Last modified: May 03 2006 16:22:52.