ECEN5813

Fall 2024

Course Logistics

Class Style: 3 Credit hour lecture course with projects

Workload: Estimated 10-15 hours per week

Lectures: T-TH  3:30 to 4:45 pm in ECCR 1B51

Prerequisites

This course requires that you have C programming experience. Although not strict prerequisites, courses offered in the department where this experience can be obtained include:

• ECEN 1310 C-programming for ECE

Please do not enroll in the course if you cannot program basic C, as you will not be successful.

Instructor

Lalit Pandit:  lalit.pandit@colorado.edu

Student Assistants

Trapti Balgi: trapti.balgi@colorado.edu

Krish Shah:  krish.shah-1@colorado.edu

Mohit Chaudhari: mohit.chaudhari@colorado.edu

Course Description and Topics covered

Principles of Embedded Software is intended to prepare students for careers in professional embedded software development. The course provides students with the foundational software background needed for the Embedded Systems Engineering core curriculum, and as such, will focus on developing a strong understanding of the C programming language as it is used in professional embedded software. The course will break down the interactions between software and hardware; study the implications of the C programming language to the underlying architecture; provide C programming applications; and instill efficient, high performance, and robust software design techniques. Testing and debug practices will be developed and refined. 

Specific topics to be covered include:

• Resource constraints and real-time performance requirements

• Development environment, including version control, configuration management, development kits, and cross-compiling and cross-debugging

• Advanced C programming, with a specific focus on programming for resource-limited embedded computers

• Software architecture

• Hardware interfaces and processor selection 

• Peripherals and device drivers

• Memory and memory management

• Scheduling algorithms for embedded systems 

• Optimization for performance and power consumption

The course will maintain a strong hands-on focus, with biweekly coding assignments plus a final project. 

Course Materials

Course materials include textbooks, papers, lecture slides, project guides, and other online materials.

Textbooks (CU bookstore/Online)
Making Embedded Systems: Design Patterns for Great Software 2nd Edition  (O'Reilly) - Elecia White, 2024, ISBN-13: 978-1098151546                                                   

Embedded Systems Fundamentals with Arm Cortex-M based Microcontrollers: A Practical Approach Nucleo-F091RC Edition 2nd Edition (ARM Education Media UK) - Alexander G. Dean, 2021, ISBN-13: 978-1911531265 

Course website

Course lectures, assignments, grades and announcements use Canvas.

The course also uses GitHub for course material and assignments.

Development Platform

For project development, PES students use the Nucleo-F091RC Development Platform built with the ARM Cortex M0 microprocessor.  Students will be provided loaner board for the semester project work. They can also purchase(approximately $11) this board if they want to keep it long term.  This will be detailed for the class at the beginning of the semester.

PC/Laptop Requirements

A PC (Mac, Windows, or Linux) will be needed for development work.  Some portions of PES may be presented via web conferences, and some interactions may require you to have access to a web camera and microphone.  A reliable Internet connection will also be needed.