

Backpack
the Open Vision Computer
- Size
- 138 × 50 mm
- Copper layers
- 4
- Thickness
- 1.6 mm
- Parts
- 62
- Nets
- 113
- Pads
- 327
- Tracks, vias
- 692, 106
- Pours
- 7
- Routed
- Yes
- KiCad
- KiCad 5 (file 20190605)
- Created
- 21 Feb 2018
- Updated
- 12 Apr 2023
Overview
Backpack is an open-source printed circuit board by osrf, from the osrf/ovc repository on GitHub, published under the Apache-2.0 licence. It is a 4-layer board of 138 × 50 mm with 62 parts on 113 nets, routed with 692 tracks and 106 vias.
It is built around the MAX3221EAE+, FT230XS-R and ISOW7842DWE, with the SN74AXCH8T245PW and SN74AVCH2T45DCU among its other parts. Its parts include 26 capacitors, 9 ICs, 9 connectors, 6 resistors and 2 diodes.
Main components
5MAX3221EAE+
SSOP-16-208mil-40℃~+85℃ 1 1 235Kbps 3V~5.5V Transceiver SSOP-16-208mil RS232 ICsMaxim Integrated (Analog Devices)RS232 ICsFT230XS-R
SSOP-16-150mil-40℃~+85℃ 125uA 3.3V~5V 8mA USB 2.0 USB to UART SSOP-16-150mil USB Converters ROHSFTDIUSB ConvertersISOW7842DWE
SOIC-16-300mil-40℃~+125℃ 100Mbps 2 2 5000 Fail-safe output SOIC-16-300mil Digital Isolators (with Power) ROHSTexas InstrumentsDigital Isolators (With Power)SN74AXCH8T245PW
TSSOP-24-40℃~+125℃ 1 380Mbps 650mV~3.6V 650mV~3.6V 8 Bidirectional Level translator Power-off protection、Output enable high-impedance Tri-State TSSOP-24 Translators, Level Shifters ROHSTexas InstrumentsTranslators, Level ShiftersSN74AVCH2T45DCU
VSSOP-8-0.5mm-40℃~+85℃ 1.2V~3.6V 1.2V~3.6V 2 500Mbps Bidirectional Power-Off Protection Tri-State VSSOP-8 Translators, Level Shifters ROHSTexas InstrumentsTranslators / Level Shifters
README
README.mdOpen Vision Computer (OVC)
Here is an outdated-but-maybe-interesting overview presentation of the project (March 2018).
This repo contains hardware, firmware, and software for an open-source embedded vision system: the Open Vision Computer (OVC). The goal is to connect state of the art open hardware with open firmware and software. There are a few revs:
- ovc0: three Python1300 imagers, an Artix-7 FPGA, DRAM, and USB3 via a Cypress FX3 controller.
- ovc1: two Python1300 imagers, a Jetson TX2 (6x ARMv8, GPU, etc.) connected to a Cyclone-V GT FPGA over PCIe.
- ovc2: two Python1300 imagers, a Jetson TX2 (6x ARMv8, GPU, etc.) connected to a Cyclone 10 GX FPGA over PCIe Gen 2.0 x4
- ovc3: three ON Semi AR0144CS imagers, USB Type-C peripheral, Trenz TE0820 module with Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+, RAM, flash, etc. Up to four optional external camera boards, each of which add a pair of AR0144CS imagers.
- ovc4: A Jetson Xavier NX carrier board with an NXP MCU, USB Type-C interface and six Picam compatible connectors.
- ovc5 (current work): based on Zynq UltraScale+ modules from Enclustra, with up to six external MIPI camera boards. Both Zynq USB SuperSpeed (5 Gbps) transceivers connect to an onboard USB-SS+ (10 Gbps) hub controller IC, which multiplexes them upstream via a USB type-C connector. Also has three Qwiic/STEMMA connectors and some random FPGA GPIO for low-speed expansion.
Where do I find stuff
Each camera family has its own directory in this repository that contains its relevant hardware, firmware, and software.
Hardware Design
We are using the very latest KiCAD: the nightly development builds. Installation instructions are here: https://www.kicad.org/download/ubuntu/
Once you have installed kicad-nightly on your machine, then you will
need to set up the repos as follows:
mkdir ~/hw
cd ~/hw
git clone ssh://git@github.com/osrf/osrf_hw
git clone ssh://git@github.com/osrf/ovcAdd the following line to your .bashrc file to set the KIWORKSPACE environment variable to point at your hardware folder:
export KIWORKSPACE=~/hwThen you should be able to view the latest developments:
cd ~/hw/ovc/ovc5/hardware/carrier
kicad-nightly ovc5.kicad_proSoftware License
Hardware License
Documentation License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Parts
62| Qty | Value | Footprint | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | 100n | Capacitor_SMD:C_0603_1608Metric | C2, C3, C10, C11, C12, C13, C14, C15, C16, C17, C18, C19, C21, C24, C25, C26 +3 |
| 8 | MountingHole_Pad | MountingHole:MountingHole_3.2mm_M3_DIN965_Pad | H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, H6, H7, H8 |
| 5 | 10u | Capacitor_SMD:C_0603_1608Metric | C1, C4, C5, C8, C23 |
| 2 | 10k | Resistor_SMD:R_0603_1608Metric | R5, R6 |
| 2 | 270R | Resistor_SMD:R_0603_1608Metric | R3, R4 |
| 2 | 27R | Resistor_SMD:R_0603_1608Metric | R1, R2 |
| 2 | 47p | Capacitor_SMD:C_0603_1608Metric | C20, C22 |
| 2 | ISOW7842 | Package_SO:SOIC-16W_7.5x10.3mm_P1.27mm | U2, U3 |
| 2 | SN74AXCH8T245 | Package_SO:TSSOP-24_4.4x7.8mm_P0.65mm | U5, U6 |
| 2 | ferrite | Resistor_SMD:R_0603_1608Metric | FB1, FB2 |
| 1 | FT230XS | Package_SO:SSOP-16_3.9x4.9mm_P0.635mm | U8 |
| 1 | GPIO1 | Connector_Molex:Molex_Nano-Fit_105313-xx05_1x05_P2.50mm_Horizontal | J1 |
| 1 | IMU_UART0 | Connector_PinHeader_2.54mm:PinHeader_1x03_P2.54mm_Vertical | J7 |
| 1 | IMU_UART2 | Connector_PinHeader_2.54mm:PinHeader_1x03_P2.54mm_Vertical | J6 |
| 1 | MAX3221E | Package_SO:TSSOP-16_4.4x5mm_P0.65mm | U4 |
| 1 | ROOT CONSOLE | Connector_PinHeader_2.54mm:PinHeader_1x03_P2.54mm_Vertical | J3 |
| 1 | RS232 | Connector_Molex:Molex_Nano-Fit_105313-xx03_1x03_P2.50mm_Horizontal | J4 |
| 1 | RXLED | LED_SMD:LED_0603_1608Metric | D1 |
| 1 | SN74AVCH2T45 | Package_SO:VSSOP-8_2.3x2mm_P0.5mm | U7 |
| 1 | TO_CAMERA | Connector_PinHeader_1.27mm:PinHeader_2x15_P1.27mm_Vertical | J2 |
| 1 | TXLED | LED_SMD:LED_0603_1608Metric | D2 |
| 1 | USB_B_Micro | Connector_USB:USB_Micro-B_Wuerth_629105150521_CircularHoles | J5 |
| 1 | VN-100 | IMU:VN-100 | U1 |
| 1 | debug | Connector_PinHeader_2.54mm:PinHeader_1x03_P2.54mm_Vertical | J9 |
| 1 | debug | Connector_PinHeader_2.54mm:PinHeader_2x05_P2.54mm_Vertical | J8 |
| 1 | uIMU-2 | IMU:uIMU-2 | U9 |
Questions
How big is the Backpack PCB?
It measures 138 × 50 mm and has 4 copper layers, 1.6 mm thick.
What parts does the Backpack use?
62 parts, built around the MAX3221EAE+, FT230XS-R, ISOW7842DWE and SN74AXCH8T245PW. The full list of its parts is on this page, with links to each part's symbol and footprint where PCBKit's library has them.
Where can I download the Backpack KiCad files?
From the osrf/ovc repository on GitHub, at the commit this page was made from: the board is ovc3/hardware/ovc3a/ovc3a/backpack/backpack.kicad_pcb. PCBKit opens the board in the browser, with nothing to install.
Can I use the Backpack design in my own project?
Its repository publishes it under the Apache-2.0 licence: you may reuse it on that licence's terms (keep the author's notice, and for a copyleft licence share your changes alike).
More from osrf/ovc
12- 6 layers230 × 56 mm

- 6 layers145 × 43.4 mm

- 6 layers110.5 × 50 mm

- 6 layers160 × 46.5 mm

- 6 layers98 × 97 mm

- 6 layers95 × 73 mm

- 6 layers87 × 81 mm

- 6 layers87 × 81 mm

- 10 layers33.1 × 35.5 mm

- 6 layers237 × 39 mm

- 6 layers138 × 50 mm

- 6 layers138 × 50 mm

Similar boards
- 4 layers76.5 × 69 mm

Fmc sdram
chipsalliance/rocket-pcb
PCB libraries and templates for rocket-chip based FPGA/ASIC designs
73 parts21Apache-2.0 - 4 layers74.2 × 32.2 mm

RS232-Adapter
HyFiVeUser/HyFiVe
For this use case we developed a very flexible autonomous measuring system, which can be deployed on fishing gear to collect data in an affordable and scalable way.
34 partsCC-BY-SA-4.0 - 2 layers229.9 × 111.8 mm

- 2 layers203.2 × 149.9 mm

- 2 layers77.5 × 40.6 mm

Link adapter
jkominek/piano-conversion
Hardware, and some firmware, for acoustic piano to MIDI controller conversion.
42 parts53 - 4 layers62 × 42 mm

- 4 layers65 × 56 mm

Copilot Lite
BayLibre/Copilot
Manage a DUT power and serial through a single USB port, no additional software required.
80 parts22MIT - 2 layers48.2 × 49.3 mm

Nixie pipe
tuna-f1sh/nixiepipe-hardware
Hardware design files and firmware for my Nixie Pipe modules
49 parts19