CSE477 Goals/syllabus/workload/grading/policies

Catalog Data

CSE 477 Digital System Design (4) Students use the laboratory to design, simulate, construct, and debug a substantial project that includes hardware, software, and communication components. Lectures focus on use of embedded processors in digital system design and interfacing techniques. Writing and debugging of real-time reactive software emphasized. Prerequistes: CSE378 and CSE467.

Course Goals

To tie together the computer engineering curriculum via the design of a complete embedded system comprising hardware, software, and communication components.
To learn engineering design practices including requirements generation, technical documentation, design reviews, verbal presentation, and product demonstration.
To learn how to evaluate tradeoffs in technical design, and thereby make good engineering decisions.
To develop a complete product from design to implementation to debugging.
To gain appreciation for software issues in embedded systems.
To understand basic microcontrollers and how to use them in embedded system design.
To gain familiarity with basic serial and parallel communication methods.
To work toward a common goal in a team environment.

Course Syllabus

Introduction to embedded systems
Microprocessors and microcontrollers

Basic organization
Address/data bus
Memories
I/O ports
Timing subsystems
Interrupt handling

Interfacing techniques

Basic I/O ports
Interactions involving time
Memories
Interface support devices
Polling
Interrupts and interrupt handling

Communication methods

Serial
Parallel
Basic wireless schemes
Error correction
Flow control

Microcontroller software issues

Interrupt handling
Device drivers
Multi-tasking
Operating systems for embedded applications

Practical issues

Printed-circuit boards
High-speed signaling
Clock routing/switching/enabling

Design experiences

Case studies of previous projects
Industry perspectives
Research directions

Workload

This course comprises the following elements:

Lectures: Approximately 10 formal lectures and 2 guest/industry lectures. We will use the remaining lecture slots for design reviews and project presentations.
Reading: We will provide all reading material.
Assignments: One laboratory assignment to familiarize you with the XESS XSV-300 boards and embedded microcontrollers.
Design reviews: 2 technical packages (preliminary and final design packages) that describe your project in sufficient detail for another team to completely evaluate your design.
Reviewer evaluations: 2 reviewer evaluations, where your team evaluates another team's preliminary and final design packages.
Class presentations: 4 class presentations, comprising (1) your preliminary design, (2) your review of another team's preliminary design, (3) your final design, and (4) your review of another team's final design.
Lab presentations: 1, to demonstrate your completed project.
Product brochure: A web-based product brochure.
Project report: A *complete* package comprising all the technical details of your project and the user's manual
Exams: None
Final: None

This course is a capstone design course for the Computer Engineering Program. Its purpose is to tie together the material from other courses in the design, construction, and debugging of a complete embedded system.

Embedded-system design is difficult and time consuming. Start your projects *immediately*. Spending an hour or two per day on this class will maximize your efficiency. You will work this way in the real world—you cannot cram a three-month design into one night—so you may as well work this way now. Plus, you will understand the material better, and waste less time.

Software tools consume more time then they should. We have chosen tools that are easy to use, but undoubtedly there will be a startup cost. Read the manuals, work together, and do not spend countless hours making no progress. Ask for help.

All turn-in for this class will be electronic. We will assign a web page for each project team, where you will post your design packages, reviewer comments, final report, brochure, etc. For those of you who are taking CSE477 concurrently with TC333, the TC instructor has asked that you post your design reviews and final project in Word format, so she can edit your writeups easily. Your writing must be clear and concise. We will not waste time trying to decipher poor writing.

Grading

We will determine your course grade as follows:

0%: Laboratory assignment. But...you must complete this assignment and get TA signoff to pass the class.
15%: preliminary design package
10%: written analysis of another team's preliminary design package
5%: preliminary design presentations (your package, and your review of another team's package)
15%: final design package
10%: written analysis of another team's final design package
5%: final design presentations (your package, and your review of another team's package)
10%: demonstration of your completed project
5%: project brochure
25%: project report

Please see the class schedule for assignment due dates and times.

Class participation is very important to CSE477. We need you in the classroom for your classmates' design presentations. The instructor reserves the right to adjust your final grade based on class attendence/participation.

We will grade all your assignments numerically. At the end of the term, we will sum the total points, normalize the sum (choose X and Y), and assign a final numeric grade as follows:

We will round up or down using standard conventions: 3.84 --> 3.8; 3.85 --> 3.9

Collaboration

One objective of this course is for you to acquire experience working as a member of a team. There will be 3 students in each project group. Pick your partners carefully and ensure that you are compatible in terms of personality, objectives, and study habits. However, a team assignment does not mean that each student learns only 1/3 of the project material. There is a simple rule you must follow when working in a team: Each of you should be able to answer any question about the project. We will ask questions during the project presentations, to ensure that you have followed this rule. In addition, in each and every writeup, we want to see (1) the author's name for each and every section of the writeup, and (2) a statement about each person's precise role in the design and realization of the project.

Cheating

Cheating is a very serious offense. If caught cheating, you can expect a failing grade and initiation of a cheating case in the University system. Basically, cheating is an insult to the instructor, the department and major program, and, most importantly, to the person doing the cheating. Just don't.

If you are in doubt about what might constitute cheating, either don't do it or send the instructor an email describing the situation.

Comments to: cse477-webmaster@cs.washington.edu