An introductory capstone design course on embedded systems

Abstract

Abstract-We review an introductory course in embedded systems that characterizes embedded systems not by resource constraints, but rather by interactions with the physical world. This course teaches students the basics of models, analysis tools, and design for embedded systems. Traditional undergraduate courses in embedded systems focus on ad-hoc engineering practices and the use of existing modeling techniques, often omitting critical analysis and meta-modeling; we emphasize model-based design of embedded and cyber-physical systems. Students learn how to model the physical world with continuous time differential equations, and how to model computation using logic and discrete models such as state machines. Students evaluate these modeling techniques through the use of meta-modeling, illuminating the interplay of practical design with formal models of systems that incorporate both physical dynamics and computation. Students learn formal techniques to specify and verify desired behavior. A combination of structured labs and design projects solidifies these concepts when applied to the design of embedded and cyber-physical systems with real-time and concurrent behaviors.

Trial by Flyer

“…The control board is in the private "solution" repo listed above. The test stand is on github 23 . It's authored in SolidPython 24 .…”

“…Likewise, programming has become an integral part of every engineering discipline, so many engineering students can benefit from hands-on experience building a programming complex systems. Educators have devised a wide range of capstone courses to provide students with experience at the boundary of hardware and software [20,[22][23][24][25], but providing this experience in the face of growing enrollments is a significant challenge.…”

“…https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016H589HC/ref=oh_makeaui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 21 https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-9x-9ch-transmitter-replacement-throttlerudder-gimbal-1pc.html and https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-9x-9ch-transmitterreplacement-elevator-aileron-gimbal-1pc.html?___store=en_us22 https://hobbyking.com/en_us/frsky-replacement-gimbal-for-taranistransmitter.html?___store=en_us23 https://github.com/NVSL/QuadClass-Test-Stand 24 https://github.com/SolidCode/SolidPython…”

Cyber-Physical Systems Education: Explorations and Dreams

“…A more detailed discussion of the philosophy underlying the course, especially on the lab component and its integration with theoretical content, appears in [4,19].…”

Teaching embedded systems the Berkeley way

“…Instead, we have been developing a complementary lab manual, the principles of which we have previously described [3], and a draft of which is available from the course website, http://chess.eecs.berkeley.edu/ eecs149. At Berkeley, the lab activity has two phases.…”