OSHE I2C/UART Card
The OSHE I2C/UART Card is a community-developed expansion card providing I2C and UART interfaces in the Framework expansion card form factor1. Developed by the Open Source Hardware Enterprise (OSHE), a student team at Michigan Technological University, the card went through multiple design revisions over the 2025–2026 academic year and reached feature-complete status in April 20262.
Design
A key design challenge was whether to include both male and female pin headers on the same board — doing so would have required the card to extend outside the laptop's form factor, which the team wanted to avoid1. The solution was to create two separate PCB variants: one with female headers and one with male headers, both staying compact and compatible with the Framework expansion bay1.
The revised design includes a switch to toggle between I2C and UART modes and adds over-voltage protection against plugging in more than 5V on the Vo connector3. The card is otherwise electrically identical to the earlier revision3.
Framework supported OSHE's development by sending the team a Framework 13 motherboard and Cooler Master case for physical and electrical validation testing2.
Specifications
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Interfaces | I2C, UART (switchable)3 |
| PCB variants | Female headers, male headers1 |
| Protection | Over-voltage protection (>5V on Vo)3 |
| Status | Feature-complete (April 2026)2 |
| Organization | Michigan Technological University — OSHE1 |
| License | Open source1 |
| Repository | OSHE-Github/OSHE-Framework (GitHub)2 |
Related Projects
| Project | Description |
|---|---|
| OSHE Mouse Dongle Hiding Card | Recessed USB-A card for wireless dongles — another OSHE project |
| OSHE Magnetic Charging Card | MagSafe-style magnetic charging card — another OSHE project |
| UART Expansion Card | Community UART serial expansion card |