Course Outline

Credits: Lecture 3
Semester Taught: Spring
Corequisite: CS 330 or EE 371

The design and implementation of embedded and real time computing systems including both operating and control systems. The course emphasis will be on the hardware/software interface, programming techniques for asynchronous methods and state-or-the-art tools for developing and supporting embedded systems.

There is no formal laboratory for this course, but we there will be assignments requiring the application of principles discussed in class. For this year, we will not have an official lab, but there will be numerous classes (see schedule, which will be changing constantly) that will take place in the lab. I can stand up front and preach all day, but you really need to get pratical experience to understand embedded system software design.

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Course Objectives:

The objectives of this course are:

1. To understand the characteristics of real-time systems and the application of real-time software design in the development of complex systems.
2. Understand the properties and the hardware design issues in embedded systems and alternative strategies for the design and development of software for such systems.
3. Develop and demonstrate the skills involved in designing and implementing real-time software systems.
4. Develop and demonstrate the skills necessary to design and implement real-time, feedback control system software.
5. Understand sensor interfacing and analog-digital systems.

The assessment of these objectives will be based on:

1. Exams which will measure your understanding of embedded and real-time system concepts (1, 2, 5).
2. Classroom assignments which will require you to work on your own to collect information and organize it into reports that are factually and conceptually correct (1,2).
3. Laboratory assignments which will require you to understand the concepts and application of real-time and embedded programming and to demonstration the ability to implement software solutions. (1,2,3,4).
4. Laboratory assignments which will require you to work with sensor interfacing and actuator control in an embedded system and write software to accomplish both (1,2,3,4,5).

ABET Statement

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Course Content

Specific activies related to these objectives are:

1. Real-time software systems.
   1. Understand real-time constraints and their impact on systems.
   2. Feedback control systems.
   3. Reference models for real-time systems.
   4. Real-time system design tools.
   5. Real-time scheduling.
   6. Real-time operating systems.
   7. Real-time communication systems.
2. Embedded systems.
   1. The organization of embedded systems.
   2. Embedded system architectures.
   3. Interfacing and sensors in embedded systems.
   4. Embedded software development.
   5. Alternatives choices in designing embedded systems.
   6. Alternatives choices in developing embedded systems.
3. Acquire experience with real-time and embedded software development.
   1. Design, develop and implement a real-time system.
   2. Develop and implement alternative strategies for implementing a real-time schedule and analyze the results.
   3. Develop a control system using real-time control.
   4. Interface a sensor system to an embedded processor.
   5. Develop a control system using sensors and feedback control.

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