About LeafLabs

Our story is common: we were the kids who would rather take apart their toys than play with them– a cliche, we know. We grew up, watching personal computing grow with us, and now we see ourselves at the cusp of a new age of computing. From mainframes to desktops and now to tiny embedded electronic devices. The catchphrase is physical computing; computers interacting with the real world, in real time.

LeafLabs was founded on the premise that science should not be confined to expensive labs filled with shiny equipment, but found on cluttered workbenches in musty basements everywhere. We’re dedicated to bringing the latest in computer science and electrical engineering to non experts in an easily accessible form. We want advanced topics in Machine Learning and computational techniques integrated into the most mundane of projects; we want kids to be excited to make their own electronic gadgets; we want everyone to be a hacker.

You can contact us, learn more about our open source licensing, the DIY/hacker hardware community, or read our blog.

the team

LeafLabs is comprised of a ragtag group of MIT affiliates

FAQ

What expansion boards can I expect?

We currently have several expansion boards on our docket: Audio I/O, Accelerometer, Camera, Motor Controller, GPS, Video I/O. For more information on current and upcoming products, please visit our Hardware page. If you have an idea for an expansion board, or just need a specific sensor or actuator for a certain project, email us, and we’ll see what we can do.

Are you open source?
Yes! Our software is available under the MIT/X11 license, and our hardware schematics are all Creative Commons. At the end of the day, we want everyone to be able make cool stuff; we’re just here to help. See our licensing page for details.

What is “physical computing”?
Physical computing is a field that encompasses a whole lot. At its core, Physical Computing means building a computer that interacts with the real world. Physical computers can be as sophisticated as ASIMO or as simple as a monitor to tell you when to water your plants. We really dig the idea of getting computers off of the desktop and into the wild, and that’s a major reason we started this venture.

What is an “Arduino”?
Arduino is an Italian company that makes awesome development boards like our own. They currently the most popular board on the market, and for good reason; they make good boards that make doing projects fun and easy. They were also one of the first companies to open source their boards.

What does “open source” mean?
Open source can mean a variety of things, but essentially it is a method of developing and distributing software in an ‘open’ way. Input is encouraged and the project source code is freely available for download and modification. Open source generally refers to software, but it is fair to say our boards are open source because all of the design files are available for download online, so you can alter them to make your dream board.

What can I do with a Leaf board that I couldn’t do with another dev board?
The answer to this question lies largely in which Leaf board you are working with. Those who work with the Maple will find they can integrate audio processing in their projects, and also increase the scale of projects executable on the Arduino. With Oak or Willow, however, the possibilities explode. The integrated FPGAs offer unbelievable speed-up for many applications due to their capacity for parallelization. Signal processing, cryptography, and machine vision are just a few of the areas in which an FPGA will redefine the way you think about your project.

Will libraries written for Arduino work with Maple?
It varies depending on the library. If the library are written in C/C++ with only the Arduino extensions, and no low level direct access to AVR registers or instructions (which seems to be true of most libraries), then it should work on Maple. No promises, though.

When can I get a leaf board?
When they’re ready!