Embedded Systems Program

There are three Courses in this program

·        Embedded C (Level 0) –Certification from SafeTTy Systems Ltd .UK

·        Foundations of Reliable Embedded Systems (Level 1) Certification from SafeTTy Systems Ltd .UK

·        Internet of Things with MSP432 and Cloud – Certification from Microdevice Technologies

Embedded C (Level 0) – Duration 30Hrs

Key features of this course

• Courseware designed by Dr. Michael J. Pont CEO SafeTTy Systems.
• A consistent focus on designing code that is safe and reliable.
• Course begins with the study of ARM architecture.
• A crash course on ‘C’ is included in the course itself, in case your skills are a little rusty.
• Use of TI CCS IDE.
• Creating a Simple Embedded OS; this is the starting point in learning about RTOS.
• International certification for candidates.
• Boost your profile for Post-Graduation in overseas universities.
• Open up career opportunities in mission critical industries.
• Program using Texas Instruments MSP432 ARM Cortex M4 kit.

Syllabus

• Overview of ARM architecture.
• Memory map of the ARM Cortex-Mx microcontroller.
• Timers of MSP432.
• Machine cycle and oscillator frequency calculations.
• SysTick Timer and its use in an Embedded OS
• Crash Course on C programming with focus on loops, functions, function prototypes, variable declaration and definition , pointers , typedefs , macros ,unsigned numbers .
• CCS environment.
• Creating project, building the target and running the code on target board.
• Understanding Energy trace in CCS.
• Reading Switches , Controlling Multi-colored LED
• Structuring Code and Object Oriented style of programming with C.
• Real Time constraints
• Creating a small Embedded OS.
• Multistate systems and function sequences.
• Generating PWM signal.
• Traffic signal system using FSM.
• Watchdog timer and their use in recovery from failure.
• Serial Port programming of MSP432

Certification Criteria

A one hour online exam would be conducted under university style conditions. Students have to secure a 70pcnt pass mark.     

Foundations of Reliable Embedded Systems (Level 1) – Duration 60hrs

Key features of this course 

• A consistent focus on the creation of reliable embedded systems in a wide range of sectors.
• Provides an introduction to modern Time-Triggered (TT) system architectures.
• Provides a solid foundation for people interested in the development of safety-related systems.  
• Understand the key concepts of “real-time” systems and the importance of timing behaviour when creating reliable embedded systems.
• Understand key design and programming techniques which can help to improve the reliability of embedded systems for use in a range of different market sectors.
• Understand time-triggered (TT) software architectures.
• Understand how to test and debug existing embedded systems.
• Be ready for more advanced training in software design
• International certification for candidates

Syllabus

• What is an Embedded and a Deeply Embedded System?
• Discussion on 8051 architecture.
• Why use C?
• Difference between writing code for desktop and an embedded system and the differences in their software architecture.
• What are TASKS?
• What is a Real Time Embedded System?
• Accuracy of Loop Delays and Hardware Delays.
• What are Sandwich delays and why do we use them?
• What are timeout mechanisms and why and when do we need to timeout?
• What is the concept of balanced code?
• Concept of Worst Case Execution Time (WCET) and Best Case Execution Time (BCET) of Tasks.
• Understanding Interrupts and Interrupt response time.
• Understanding TT embedded operating system.
• Explore Co-operative and Hybrid schedulers and why we need them and when to employ them.
• How to handle Task Jitter?
• Timing analysis of tasks
• Compare 8-bit 8051, 32- bit ARM, soft processor implemented on FPGA and x86 platforms and how the performance is affected in each case. Which platform is reliable if employed in aero-space systems?
• What are multitasking systems?
• Running multiple tasks on a single CPU system with Task pre-emption. Here we learn about implementing a system employing a Hybrid scheduler. We also explore why a commercial RTOS may not be a good choice in systems where there are tight timing constraints.
• What is Priority Inversion and how to avoid it using Hybrid schedulers?
• What are distributed systems and their interconnection topologies?
• How are tasks running on different nodes synchronized in distributed systems?
• CAN protocol and its use in distributed systems.

Certification Criteria

• A two hour written exam would be conducted under university style conditions. Students have to secure a 70pcnt pass mark.
• 12 Coding and problem solving exercises that match given specifications have to be completed with proper documentation as specified in the manual