diff --git a/sbot/background_motor_board.py b/sbot/background_motor_board.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bab7e08
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sbot/background_motor_board.py
@@ -0,0 +1,238 @@
+"""
+Modified motor board which updates the power of the motors in the background.
+
+Each round-trip over serial has a non-negligible cost (5-7ms) and this is a
+problem when we want to be doing control loops at a reasonable frequency.
+
+This class is a wrapper around the MotorBoard class which allows setting the
+power of the motors in the background, which means we can be doing the serial
+communication in parallel with the sensor reading and control loop.
+
+The background thread here does not guarantee to send every power update to the
+motor board, but rather makes sure that the motor board has the most recent
+available power setting.
+
+The API of this class is the same as the MotorBoard class so stands as a drop-in
+replacement, except that consumers need to explicitly start and stop the background
+processing thread.
+"""
+
+import threading
+import time
+import typing
+
+from .motor_board import Motor, MotorBoard, MotorStatus
+from .utils import BoardIdentity
+
+
+class BackgroundMotorBoard:
+    """
+    A class representing the motor board interface.
+
+    This class is intended to be used to communicate with the motor board over serial
+    using the text-based protocol added in version 4.4 of the motor board firmware.
+
+    :param serial_port: The serial port to connect to.
+    :param initial_identity: The identity of the board, as reported by the USB descriptor.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, motor_board: MotorBoard) -> None:
+        self._motor_board = motor_board
+        self._background_thread: typing.Optional[threading.Thread] = None
+        self._birdbox: bool = False
+
+        self._a_power: typing.Optional[float] = None
+        self._b_power: typing.Optional[float] = None
+        self._last_a_power: typing.Optional[float] = None
+        self._last_b_power: typing.Optional[float] = None
+
+        real_motor_a, real_motor_b = self._motor_board.motors
+
+        self._a_motor = BackgroundMotorProxy(
+            real_motor_a,
+            lambda: self._a_power,
+            self._set_a_power,
+        )
+        self._b_motor = BackgroundMotorProxy(
+            real_motor_b,
+            lambda: self._b_power,
+            self._set_b_power,
+        )
+
+    def _set_a_power(self, power: float) -> None:
+        self._a_power = power
+
+    def _set_b_power(self, power: float) -> None:
+        self._b_power = power
+
+    def _background_thread_run(self) -> None:
+        while True:
+            if self._birdbox:
+                break
+            self._thread_tick()
+
+    def _thread_tick(self) -> None:
+        did_update = False
+        if self._a_power is not None and self._a_power != self._last_a_power:
+            self._last_a_power = self._a_power
+            self._a_motor.power = self._a_power
+            did_update = True
+
+        if self._b_power is not None and self._b_power != self._last_b_power:
+            self._last_b_power = self._b_power
+            self._b_motor.power = self._b_power
+            did_update = True
+
+        if not did_update:
+            # If no updates were made, sleep for a bit
+            time.sleep(1 / 30)
+        else:
+            # Make sure we yield to other threads so that we release the GIL,
+            # this way the main thread gets a chance to do its normal work.
+            time.sleep(0)
+
+    def start_thread(self) -> None:
+        """Start the background motor processing thread."""
+        if self._background_thread is not None:
+            return
+        self._background_thread = threading.Thread(target=self._background_thread_run)
+        self._background_thread.start()
+
+    def stop_thread(self) -> None:
+        """Stop the background motor processing thread."""
+        if self._background_thread is None:
+            return
+        self._birdbox = True
+        self._background_thread.join()
+        self._background_thread = None
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def get_board_type() -> str:
+        return "MCv4B"
+
+    @property
+    def motors(self) -> typing.Tuple[Motor, Motor]:
+        """
+        A tuple of the two motors on the board.
+
+        :return: A tuple of the two motors on the board.
+        """
+        return typing.cast(  # Don't believe his lies
+            typing.Tuple[Motor, Motor],
+            (
+                self._a_motor,
+                self._b_motor,
+            ),
+        )
+
+    def identify(self) -> BoardIdentity:
+        """
+        Get the identity of the board.
+
+        :return: The identity of the board.
+        """
+        return self._motor_board.identify()
+
+    @property
+    def status(self) -> MotorStatus:
+        """
+        The status of the board.
+
+        :return: The status of the board.
+        """
+        return self._motor_board.status
+
+    def reset(self) -> None:
+        """
+        Reset the board.
+
+        This command disables the motors and clears all faults.
+        """
+        has_thread = self._background_thread is not None
+
+        if has_thread:
+            self.stop_thread()
+
+        self._motor_board.reset()
+
+        self._a_power = None
+        self._b_power = None
+        self._last_a_power = None
+        self._last_b_power = None
+
+        if has_thread:
+            self.start_thread()
+
+    def __repr__(self) -> str:
+        return repr(self._motor_board)
+
+
+class BackgroundMotorProxy:
+    """
+    A class representing a motor on the motor board.
+
+    Each motor is controlled through the power property
+    and its current can be read using the current property.
+
+    :param serial: The serial wrapper to use to communicate with the board.
+    :param index: The index of the motor on the board.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        motor: Motor,
+        get_power: typing.Callable[[], typing.Optional[float]],
+        set_power: typing.Callable[[float], None],
+    ) -> None:
+        self.motor = motor
+        self.get_power = get_power
+        self.set_power = set_power
+
+    @property
+    def power(self) -> float:
+        """
+        Read the current power setting of the motor.
+
+        :return: The power of the motor as a float between -1.0 and 1.0
+            or the special value MotorPower.COAST.
+        """
+        power_output = self.get_power()
+        if power_output is None:
+            # This is a special case where the power has not been set yet;
+            # query it directly from the motor
+            return self.motor.power
+        return power_output
+
+    @power.setter
+    def power(self, power: float) -> None:
+        """
+        Set the power of the motor.
+
+        Internally this method maps the power to an integer between
+        -1000 and 1000 so only 3 digits of precision are available.
+
+        :param value: The power of the motor as a float between -1.0 and 1.0
+            or the special values MotorPower.COAST and MotorPower.BRAKE.
+        """
+        self.set_power(power)
+
+    @property
+    def current(self) -> float:
+        """
+        Read the current draw of the motor.
+
+        :return: The current draw of the motor in amps.
+        """
+        return self.motor.current
+
+    @property
+    def in_fault(self) -> bool:
+        """
+        Check if the motor is in a fault state.
+
+        :return: True if the motor is in a fault state, False otherwise.
+        """
+        return self.motor.in_fault
+
+    def __repr__(self) -> str:
+        return repr(self.motor)
diff --git a/sbot/robot.py b/sbot/robot.py
index 42115ef..9840746 100644
--- a/sbot/robot.py
+++ b/sbot/robot.py
@@ -6,11 +6,12 @@
 from socket import socket
 from time import sleep
 from types import MappingProxyType
-from typing import Literal, Mapping
+from typing import Literal, Mapping, cast
 
 from . import game_specific, metadata, timeout
 from ._version import __version__
 from .arduino import Arduino
+from .background_motor_board import BackgroundMotorBoard
 from .camera import AprilCamera, _setup_cameras
 from .exceptions import MetadataNotReadyError
 from .leds import LED, StartLed, get_user_leds
@@ -132,6 +133,19 @@ def _init_aux_boards(self, manual_boards: dict[str, list[str]] | None = None) ->
         self._servo_boards = ServoBoard._get_supported_boards(manual_servoboards)
         self._arduinos = Arduino._get_supported_boards(manual_arduinos)
 
+        # If we are using the background motor boards, set them up now
+        if not IN_SIMULATOR:
+            background_motor_boards = {
+                serial: BackgroundMotorBoard(board)
+                for serial, board in self._motor_boards.items()
+            }
+            for board in background_motor_boards.values():
+                board.start_thread()
+            self._motor_boards = MappingProxyType(cast(
+                Mapping[str, MotorBoard],
+                background_motor_boards,
+            ))
+
         self._user_leds = get_user_leds()
         self._start_led = StartLed()