The Universal Runtime for
Embodied AI.
Give any robot a brain. Apple Foundation Models plus 12+ AI providers,
LiDAR · IMU · depth cameras · reactive obstacle avoidance. One config file. Zero lock-in.
curl -sL opencastor.com/install | bash
Architecture
Tiered Cognitive Architecture
Three layers of intelligence — from reflexive safety to long-horizon planning. Each tier runs independently with automatic fallback.
Planner
Long-horizon reasoning, task decomposition, and strategic planning. Claude, GPT-4.1, Gemini.
Fast Brain
Real-time perception and quick decisions. Open-source models via HuggingFace, Ollama, or llama.cpp.
Reactive Layer
Hardware-level safety reflexes, emergency stop, collision avoidance. No AI latency — pure code.
Features
Everything you need to build
intelligent robots.
From vision to safety, from hardware drivers to community configs — it's all here.
Plug-and-Play Peripherals
Any USB camera, depth sensor, LiDAR, IMU, or motor controller works out of the box. OpenCastor auto-detects hardware at startup — no driver code required. Run castor scan to see everything connected.
Vision & Depth, Your Way
V4L2 USB cameras, CSI ribbon cameras, OAK-D stereo depth, Intel RealSense, Hailo-8 NPU acceleration — set camera: type: auto and OpenCastor picks the best available hardware. Swap it at any time.
Safety Modules
Multi-layered safety kernel: anti-subversion defense, work authorization, physical bounds enforcement, tamper-evident audit logs, and emergency stop in every loop.
Community Hub
Share and discover robot configurations, behaviors, and presets. Pull community-tested RCAN configs with one command. Build on what others have proven.
Cross-Platform
Runs on Raspberry Pi, Jetson, x86 Linux, and macOS. ARM64 native. From $35 Pi Zero to workstation-class machines — same codebase, same config.
Hot-Swap AI Brains
Switch between Apple/local/cloud stacks with a single config line. Setup recommends compatible stacks automatically for your device.
Cost
Your primary brain costs $0.
Open-source models via Hugging Face free API power the fast brain. Paid providers are optional fallbacks for planning tasks.
Primary Brain
- Apple Foundation Models on eligible Macs
- HuggingFace free inference API
- Ollama local models
- llama.cpp on-device
- Full vision pipeline
- All safety modules
- Community configs
Planner Fallback
- Anthropic Claude
- Google Gemini
- OpenAI GPT-4.1
- Complex task planning
- Long-horizon reasoning
Claude OAuth
- Use your existing Claude sub
- No separate API keys needed
- OAuth-based authentication
- Full Claude capabilities
Quick Start
Three steps to intelligent.
No PhD required. No firmware. No custom drivers.
Install
One command installs OpenCastor and all dependencies.
curl -sL opencastor.com/install | bash
Configure
Interactive wizard probes your device, suggests a stack, runs preflight, and guides fallbacks when needed.
castor wizard
Run
Your robot is now an AI-powered agent. Send commands via voice, chat, or WhatsApp.
castor run --config my_robot.rcan.yaml
Community
Recipes that
actually work.
Real builders share tested configs. Browse by use case, fork what works, and skip the hard parts.
PiCar-X Home Patrol
Nightly patrol with Gemini vision. Spots open windows, water leaks, unexpected items. WhatsApp alerts.
Farm Scout
4WD rover checking crop rows for pests, disease, and dry spots. Llama 3.3 on Hugging Face free tier.
Classroom Q&A Bot
Roams the classroom answering student questions via WhatsApp. Claude Haiku with topic and content filters.
Start building today.
Open source. Apache 2.0. Free forever.
