Microprocessors and Embedded Systems

Code: EME13238L

6 ECTS

Duration: 15 weeks/156 hours

Scientific Area: Electrotechnical Engineering

Teaching languages: Portuguese

Languages of tutoring support: Portuguese

Sustainable Development Goals

4. Educação de qualidade - Assegurar a educação inclusiva, e equitativa e de qualidade, e promover oportunidades de aprendizagem ao longo da vida para todos.

Learning Goals

Provide knowledge on microcontroller architectures and associated instruction sets. It is intended that the students know how to use a low-level language for greater code efficiency in real-time applications. Provide knowledge for the development of embedded real-time systems, based on low-cost commercial microcontrollers.

1. Introduction.
2. Hardware description language (VHDL).
3. Microcontroller architectures. Data processing unit. Control unit. Memory units. Addressing modes. Instruction set architecture. Assembler programming.
4. Arduino architecture. Main components and interfaces. Communication: series; Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI); and Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C). Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) applications.
5. Real-time systems. Timers. Interruptions and Interrupt Service Routines (ISR). Data acquisition.

Teaching Methods

The teaching approach is based on theoretical and practical classes. In the theoretical classes, the architectures of the studied microcontrollers and the hardware description and programming languages to be used are presented. In the practical classes, projects are developed on microcontroller architecture in VHDL and embedded systems (real-time) development projects using the Arduino platform.

Student tutoring available outside the class, 2 times per week in slots of 2 hours each. Email and Zoom available for basic questions or for rescheduling the tutoring timetable in order to suit each student.

Assessment

The evaluation can be carried out in one of two ways: i) Continuous; or ii) Final.
The evaluation elements are graded using the range [0,20].

i) Continuous Evaluation
The evaluation consists of two projects.
Project 1: Minimum grade of 9.5 ? Description and testing of a microcontroller in VHDL
* [P1] Project 1 (50%)
Project 2: Minimum grade of 9.5 ? Development of an embedded system
* [P2] Project 2 (50%)
[NF] Final Grade: NF = P1 × 0.5 + P2 × 0.5

ii) Final Evaluation
The evaluation consists of a final exam and a project.
Exam: Minimum grade of 9.5 ? Assessment exam on microcontroller architecture and VHDL language
[Ex] Exam (50%)
Project 2: Minimum grade of 9.5 ? Development of an embedded system
[P] Project (50%)
[NF] Final Grade: NF = Ex × 0.5 + P × 0.5

Pass/Fail Criteria:
If NF ? 9.5: Pass
If NF < 9.5: Fail