CODE | TET2014 | ||||||||
TITLE | Introduction to Coding for Microcontroller-based Systems | ||||||||
UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||
ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||
DEPARTMENT | Technology and Entrepreneurship Education | ||||||||
DESCRIPTION | This unit introduces students to microcontrollers, their use and their programming. Students will be introduced to Study-Unit Aims: This unit aims to: • introduce students to the architecture and capabilities of microcontrollers; • introduce students to concepts underlying the interface between the software and hardware components of an electronic system; • introduce students to the core constructs of machine language and assembly language; • introduce students to the core constructs of a high-level procedural programming language; • introduce students to the main concepts underlying the design, development and debugging of software in a procedural high-level programming language; • introduce students to the importance of embedded systems within the context of the Internet of Things. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: • program a Programmable logic controller using ladder logic; • distinguish between microcontrollers and general-purpose microproessors; • identify the main components and describe the architecture of a microcontroller; • distinguish between low-level and high-level programming languages; • understand the language translation process from source to machine code, libraries, linking and loading; • use flow-charts and other schematics to design and document program flow; • use the core constructs of a high-level procedural programming language; • devise testing and debugging methods to verify the correctness of a software solution. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: • control simple sensor-actuator systems using a PLC; • create simple projects interfacing a microcontroller with a variety of sensors and actuators; • design, code and debug simple AVR programs in assembly language; • design, code and debug simple Arduino sketches (C programs) using the Arduino IDE. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: • Banzi, M. & Shiloh, M. (2014) Make - Getting Started with Arduino : The Open Source Electronics Prototyping Platform, 3rd edn., O'Reilly ISB 9781449363338. • Documentation for the Arduino controller board, Arduino IDE, Atmel AVR microcontroller and Atmel Studio. Supplementary Readings: • Monk, Simon (2011) Programming Arduino Getting Started with Sketches, McGraw Hill NY. • Evans M., Noble J., Hochenbaum J (2013) Arduino in Action, Manning ISBN 9781617290244. |
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ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-requisite Study-unit: TET2013 | ||||||||
STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Independent Study | ||||||||
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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LECTURER/S | Diane Vassallo |
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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 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |