oogstek

Oogstek is a modular optical sensor platform used in robotics and autonomous systems. It combines a compact camera module with depth sensing and illumination components, designed for tight spaces and real-time perception workloads. A typical Oogstek unit includes a high-resolution image sensor, a depth sensor (stereo pair or time-of-flight), and an onboard processor for preprocessing and lightweight inference.

The name Oogstek is said to derive from Dutch roots meaning “eye” and “point,” and was coined by designers in a speculative technology project. Since its introduction in early 2020s design challenges, the concept has been adopted by several hardware communities and appears in multiple educational kits and prototypes.

In terms of hardware, Oogstek units are modular and stackable, with common interconnects such as MIPI CSI-2 or USB-C and options for separate sensors or integrated AI accelerators. They emphasize low power consumption, compact form factors, and easy integration with existing perception pipelines. Software support typically includes drivers for Linux and common robotics frameworks, plus sample code for calibration and basic object detection.

Typical applications include mobile robotics, autonomous drones, industrial inspection, and mixed reality devices where lightweight, compact vision sensing is required.

Variants include small, medium, and large form factors, differing mainly in sensor resolution, field of view, and processing capability. The Oogstek concept has been referenced in design articles and hobbyist robotics literature as an example of modular vision sensing.