ECE 373 Description
 
Overview
 
Primary goals: 
 
- do basic embedded systems analysis and design, including hardware/software 
interfacing,
  
- understand uncore computer architecture, and 
  
- experience designing and implementing a substantial embedded system on a 
team.
  
 
Lectures will focus on broadly applicable principles. The lab projects will 
illustrate these principles using a ARM Cortex M3 based prototyping board. You 
need to spend a lot of time in the lab in order to complete your projects 
— this is a lab intensive class. 
Prerequisites
 
Courses: 
 
- EECS 270 and
  
- EECS 370.
  
Topics: 
 
- boolean algebra;
  
- combinational logic including multiplexers;
  
- sequential logic including latches, flip-flops, and finite state machines;
  
- assembly language programming;
  
- pipelining,
  
- memory and caching,
  
- conditional and looping program control structures,
  
- functions and procedures including parameter passing,
  
- pointer-based data structures, and
  
- structured programming.
  
 
General Policies
 
The honor code is in force on all assignments and exams. See the 
Engineering Honor Council web page for more details. 
 
- All individual assignments (including but not limited to exams, pre-labs, 
homework assignments and exams) are to be performed independently. 
  
- All team assignments (including in-lab work, post-labs, and group 
presentations) are to be performed only by members of the team. Collaboration 
among members of different teams is permitted for the purpose of helping 
classmates to understand concepts and providing insights into the best way to 
approach the in-lab assignments. However, non-verbal collaboration such as 
sharing schematics or code is forbidden. You may not help debug another group's 
hardware or software without consent from the lab or course instructor. You are 
also not allowed to possess, look at, use, or in any way derive advantage from 
the existence of code, lab reports, or other material prepared in prior 
years.
  
- Homework solutions will be posted soon after the deadline. Late homework 
assignments will not receive any credit. To reduce the angst this policy may 
cause, your lowest homework score for the semester will be dropped.
  
 
Lab Policies
 
 
- Pre-labs are to be done independently. They are due at the start of the lab 
session. Pre-labs not turned in within the first 10 minutes of lab will be 
considered to be a day late. Late pre-labs lose 10% credit per school day.
  
- In-lab and post-lab assignments are due in lab the week after the lab is 
assigned unless otherwise noted. Though your in-lab work must be done before 
the start of lab, in-lab sign-off sheets are due within an hour of the start of 
lab so you have a chance to have your lab instructor sign off on your in-lab 
assignment) In-lab and post-lab assignments lose 5% credit for each day that 
they are late.
  
- Most of the variation in lab grades between different students will be due to 
late penalties and pre-lab questions because the in-lab is graded almost 
entirely on a done/not done basis.
  
- You are expected to attend the lab section for which you are registered. If 
you would like to switch lab sections, but the section you want is full, you 
must find someone in that lab section to switch with. Once you have agreed on a 
switch, send email to Matt Smith. All section 
switches must be completed before the second week of lab.
  
- If there are computers available, you may work in lab during other lab 
sections. However the lab staff's first priority will be the students who are 
actually enrolled in that lab section. The one exception is that inlab 
sign-offs will be given reasonable priority.
  
 
Presentations
 
Teams will give a 12 minute technical talks in class. Each team will have two 
graded practice sessions. These presentations have the following goals. 
 
- Educate students about a wide variety of embedded systems topics,
  
- Provide students with the opportunity practice preparing and giving 
technical talks,
  
 
Grading
 
 
| Item |  Weight | 
 
| Labs |  24% | 
 
| Project |  30% | 
 
| Midterm 1 |  16% | 
 
| Midterm 2 |  16% | 
 
| Homework |  7% | 
 
| Presentation |  7% | 
 
 
Note: There is no final exam.
 
Page maintained by Robert Dick , Matthew Smith, Brennan Garrett, and Melinda Kothbauer.