| CODE | ESE3102 | ||||||||||||||||
| TITLE | Microcontrollers and Interfacing 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Electronic Systems Engineering | ||||||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Topic 1: The Cortex-M0 CPU- Architecture - Programming model - Instruction set and assembly programming- Exception Model - The Nested Vector Interrupt Controller (NVIC) - Block diagram and memory map of a Cortex-M0-based MCU (LPC111x) - Low-level exception handling Topic 2: Bare-Metal Programming- Low-level start-up code - The linking process - Linker scripting - The Cortex Microcontroller Software Interface Standard (CMSIS)- Exception handling in C/CMSIS - The LPC111x clock generation system Topic 3: Serial Communication Protocols - The Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) protocol - The Recommended Standard 232 (RS-232) protocol- The Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) protocol Topic 4: Real-Time Embedded Systems - Real-time systems, their applications and constraints - Super-Loop versus Operating-System-based (OS-based) software design ideologies - Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOSs) - Inter-task communication - Concurrency management - Interrupt handling in an RTOS environment Laboratory work: The laboratory work for this study-unit will consist of three practical tasks and a short project. These are intended to provide hands-on experience in the following key areas: - Assembly programming, start-up and linking - Interfacing to external peripherals (eg. EEPROMs, ICs and displays) through I2C and SPI - Interfacing to a data terminal (PC) through RS-232- Developing real-time application on an RTOS (eg. FreeRTOSTM). Study-unit Aims: The aim of this study-unit is to expand on the skills and knowledge gained in ESE2202 by: - Introducing the ubiquitous ARM processor; - Introducing advanced concepts in low-level software development (linking and start-up); - Introducing real-time embedded systems and real-time software development; - Interfacing to external peripherals and other systems via commonly used on-board and off-board protocols. Learning Outcomes 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Describe the Cortex-M architecture and the associated exception and programming models; -Describe the ARM instruction set architecture (ISA); - Describe the start-up sequence of a processor; - Describe the linking process- - Explain the advantages and disadvantages of the various embedded communication/interface protocols covered and their applications; - Compare Super-Loop and OS-based software and explain the advantages and disadvantages and the usage of each; - Define ‘real-time’ and explain the advantages and use of real-time systems; - Describe the operation of an RTOS, the facilities RTOSs commonly provide, and their applications. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Write and read ARM assembly; - Write start-up files for bare-metal applications; - Write Linker scripts; - Interface to commonly used off-chip peripherals; - Develop stand-alone C/CMSIS synchronous and asynchronous software; - Design real-time embedded system; - Use an RTOS. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - LPC1110/11/12/13/14/15 Datasheet (Available Online)- UM10398 - LPC111x/LPC11Cxx User Manual - DUI 0497A - Cortex™-M0 Devices. Generic User Guide (Available Online)- Yiu, J., The Definitive Guide to the ARM Cortex-M0 (ISBN-10: 0128032774) -The FreeRTOS™ Reference Manual - Barry, R., Mastering the FreeRTOS™ Real Time Kernel - A Hands-On Tutorial Guide. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-requisite Study-units: ESE2104; ESE2202 Please note that a pass in the Project and the Examination components is obligatory for an overall pass mark to be awarded. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Independent Study and Practical | ||||||||||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Paul Zammit |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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