This course teaches the theory of embedded systems design and demonstrates those concepts by applying them to different facades of Electrical and Computer Engineering. There are 5 labs which make the student conversant in using state of art software and hardware design tools to achieve the goals. Gradually with these labs the students also understand how many of the embedded devices around them work.

To be successful in these labs, the students must understand thoroughly the nature of the experiment and the targetted end market of the design. With online quizzing, students can test their knowledge about the subject before starting and later evaluate how much more they have learnt.

Students are required to work in groups of two and demonstrate critical understanding of the lab, familiarity with hardware and show clearly their designs, both hardware and software. Primarily, students will work on Altera's DE 2 FPGA board and use the development tools provided with it. If the lab requires any peripherals like video cameras, network cables etc , they will be provided and students must exhibit during demos that they understand what exactly is happening and how. Most labs are not extremely difficult, but require system design skills and ability to understand the different blocks and the connections.

Recommended Text: Computers as Components by Wayne Wolf, Morgan Kauffman Publishers, 2005

Grading

The final grade will be determined in the following way:

75% lab grades (all labs count equally)

15% mid-term exam

10% quizzes

Lab Grades

Once a group is ready to have their project graded, they can sign up for a demo time slot. In-lab grading will be done by the instructor and the head-TA. Each student will be asked a few questions regarding the design and implementation individually. Then the team demonstrates the correct operation of their implementation. This concludes the in-lab grading. A final report is to be turned in at the instructor's office (KEB 309E) by the deadline shown on the schedule.

The grade for the lab is determined by these three components:

30% Individual pre-demo quiz

30% Demo

40% Lab report

The grades for each component and the overall grade will be noted on the lab report.

Late Policy

Project demos, quizzes, and lab reports are due as posted on the course web page. Late submissions will not be accepted in general and be graded at the instructor's discretion. If you know that your project is running late, contact Prof. Koren or Moritz to make individual arrangements.

Honesty Policy

Consultation with fellow students is encouraged, especially on design issues. However, directly copying another student's work (past or present) defeats the purpose of the assignments and is an honor code violation. Lab reports, programs, or test answers that are directly copied from another student will result in serious penalties including course failure and possible action by the college disciplinary committee. If in doubt, please consult a TA, the instructor, or the official UMass guidelines regarding academic honesty.

Special Quizzes note: It is expected that students complete the online quizzes without help or discussion with other students. Do not post answers to quizzes in the online discussions.

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This site is maintained by Israel Koren