Session 3547 Teaching Embedded Systems Using Multiple Microcontrollers

Embedded control systems and in particular microcontrollers are used in virtually every electronic system. It is essential that EET students be conversant with this technology. Students need to have a clear understanding of the diversity of embedded systems. They also need to be familiar with a range of development tools, operating systems and languages. The characteristics of embedded systems add specific challenges to their development. They necessarily involve both hardware and software, and the software often has real-time constraints. Their development and debugging therefore require structured design techniques and good understanding of software design principles. Software is frequently developed in C or assembly code, often without the benefit of sophisticated or even standardized development tools. Data books for these devices are often obscure and good reference books are scarce. A microcontroller development system has been created for EET students at BYU. The development system forms the "textbook " for a class in embedded real-time systems. Students combine the theory of real-time systems with the practice of microcontroller systems development. They each develop a data acquisition unit using most of the features available i