Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Introduction to Microprocessors and the C Language Spring 2013

12939 EE 299 A MWF 1230-120 EEB 045
12940 EE 299 AA M 130-320 EEB 137 (lab)
12941 EE 299 AB Th 930-1120 EEB 137 (lab)

Today, microprocessors routinely touch almost every aspect of our daily lives. We find them in such familiar places as portable music players, cell phones, tablets, and GPS systems. If we look a little deeper, we see that they’re also in modern automobile electronic systems, medical devices, robotics, toys, and games. Some of these applications can be quite simple; others may be incredibly complex.  Where they go and what they will be tomorrow can only be found in our imagination.  

To work with such devices, today’s engineer needs to learn and to use a variety of tools and principles from all of the different fields of engineering.  Such knowledge helps us to understand and to address the challenges and complexities of these systems as we work to design and build better and better products for the future.

This hands-on class takes a first step by introducing some of the basic concepts of electricity, microprocessors, and programming using the C language.  Through in-class exercises, homework, and a series of practical lab projects, we will develop and practice good design methodologies. Then, working as part of a team, we learn to apply these skills as we design, debug, and test applications for the Arduino, one of today’s microprocessors.

The class, with no prerequisites other than curiosity, will meet for 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of lab each week.  It is geared towards freshman, sophomores and juniors who have not yet started their EE concentration coursework and is open to students who have completed CSE 142 and CSE 143.