Wireless embedded systems bridge our physical world with powerful digital control systems and cloud data analytics. Applications range from medical devices such as Bluetooth-enabled blood glucose meters, to payment systems such as Near-Field Communication-based credit cards. In this class, students will learn about how an embedded system works from the ground up. The lectures will focus on the key enabling components of embedded systems, including: Clocks, GPIO, Interrupts, Busses, Amplifiers, Regulators, Power supplies, ADC/DAC, DMA, Storage, and Wireless communication. The goal of the class is to familiarize the students with these components so that they feel comfortable working on a team that is building a device that incorporates a wireless embedded system.
This is the first iteration of this course; as such, students that would like to enroll need to submit an application. Applications will be approved on a case-by-case basis by the instructor.
We will be supplementing the lectures with material from the following freely available sources:
We will manage discussions, grading, and announcements for this course with TritonEd.
Day | Topic | Preparation for class |
---|---|---|
Week 1: Introduction to emdedded systems | ||
Mon Jan 7 | Introduction | Lecture 1 Slides (ppt) |
Wed Jan 9 | MCUs | Lecture 2 Slides (ppt) |
Week 2: IO and Time | ||
Mon Jan 14 | MMIO and GPIO | Lecture 2 Slides (ppt) (continued) |
Wed Jan 16 | Timers | Lecture 3 Slides (ppt) |
Week 3: Interrupts and asynchronous behavior | ||
Mon Jan 21 | MLK Holiday | No class |
Wed Jan 23 | Interrupts | Lecture 3 Slides (ppt) (continued) |
Week 4: Serial communication between the MCU and peripherals | ||
Mon Jan 28 | Introduction to serial busses (UART) | Lecture 4 Slides (ppt) |
Wed Jan 30 | Introduction to serial busses (SPI) | Lecture 4 Slides (ppt) (continued) |
Fri Feb 1 | Introduction to serial busses (I2C) | Lecture 4 Slides (ppt) (continued) |
Week 5: DMA | ||
Mon Feb 4 | Introduction to DMA | Lecture 5 Slides (ppt) |
Wed Feb 6 | How to use DMA | Lecture 5 Slides (ppt) (continued) |
Fri Feb 8 | Project 2 implementation discussion (I2C) | |
Week 6: Debugging hardware and wireless | ||
Mon Feb 11 | Debugging hardware | Lecture 6 Slides (ppt) |
Wed Feb 13 | Introduction to Wireless | Lecture 7 Slides (ppt) |
Fri Feb 15 | Introduction to Wireless (continued) | Lecture 7 Slides (ppt) |
Week 7: Midterm week | ||
Mon Feb 15 | Presidents day holiday | No class |
Wed Feb 17 | Midterm Exam | Exam |
Fri Feb 17 | Introduction to Bluetooth Low Energy | Reviewed NRF8001 datasheet and GATT Services |