A Project Course In Embedded Design

Abstract

Abstract NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract Main Menu Session 1420 A Project Course in Embedded Design Anders Nelsson Department of Telecommunications and Signal Processing Blekinge Institute of Technology, Sweden Abstract At Blekinge Institute of Technology, Sweden, a project course in embedded design is given for second year students of the Bachelor programs in Electrical/Computer Engineering. The assignment for the students is to specify and design an prototype control system for a mobile robot, currently a small car. The control system is based on a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). This course gives the students an opportunity to use and combine, in a practical way, the theoretical knowledge from earlier courses in electronics, microprocessors, automatic control, electrical measurements and programming. Working in a team-based project organization is also an important part of the course, as well as oral and written presentation techniques. The project is accomplished in teams of four students during a period of seven weeks. On the last day of the project there is a competition between the student teams in which the robot will race on a track with obstacles. The length of the competition track is 7 meters and the track has 5 to 7 randomly placed obstacles. The students have been very satisfied with this type of course. The design of the embedded system gives them a basic and useful understanding of sensors, electronics and a DSP. The course is given for 50 students, 3 times every year. Introduction At Blekinge Institute of Technology, Sweden, a project course is given for second year students of the Bachelor programs in Electrical/Computer Engineering. The assignment for the students in the course is to specify, design and build a prototype control system for a mobile robot, currently a small car. The control system is based on the digital signal processor evaluation module from Texas Instruments TMS320F240 EWM. Pedagogical purpose This course gives the students an opportunity to use and combine, in a practical way, the theoretical knowledge from earlier technical courses. Working in a team-based project organization is also an important part of the course, as well as oral and written presentation Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2002, American Society for Engineering Education Main Menu