Introduction to Embedded Systems

EE319K, Unique: 16165, 16170, 16175, 16180
Semester: Spring 2013

Reference material

• Course material
  • EE319K Laboratory Manual, Spring 2013
     
• Manuals and Data sheets
  • Manuals for the LM3S1968 board, the ARM Cortex-M3 processor and the Keil tools that we will be using in the class are linked from Prof. Valvano's EE319K site.
  • Data sheets for most of the devices used in this class are available as PDF files on Dr. Valvano's web site.
     
• Examples
  • Starter files from Dr. Valvano's site
  • Sample problems, previous exams and lecture notes from Dr. Valvano's site
     
• C programming
  • Thinking in C online seminar
  • A list of resources for learning C
     

Equipment

• Board
  Every group of two students will be required to have a Texas Instrument LM3S196 kit by the start of your lab period on Tuesday or Wednesday, 2/5 or 2/6. Since this is a new kit and we will be using the kit in EE319K and EE445L for a few years, you will have the option of selling it at the end of the semester. If you can afford it, we suggest each student obtain one kit at the start of the semester. The first possibility is to buy or borrow a LM3S1968 kit from a previous EE319K/EE445L student. If you obtain a kit from a previous student, you will need the LM3S1968 board, USB cable, two male headers (soldered onto the board) and a solderless breadboard. If you do buy/borrow a board from another student, I recommend you let the TA test it to make sure the board is functional. The second possibility is to purchase a new Texas Instruments LM3S1968 kit, which includes a board, USB cable, two male headers (not soldered on) and solderless breadboard. The student cost will be $60.00 per kit plus tax and is available from edu.mouser.com. You will have to log in using a University of Texas email (details on Blackboard).
   
• Tools
  Every student should own their own voltmeter and their own wire strippers. The NI MyDAC you bought in EE302 can be used as a voltmeter. Otherwise, a voltmeter less than $20 will do, see for example:
  • BG Micro
  • Jameco
  • Harbor Freight, has 3 locations around Austin, usually sells voltmeters for less than $10
  Since you will be making only 5 solder joints all semester, all students will be able to share the soldering iron in lab. However, all EE319K students will need their own voltmeter and wire strippers.

  Safety warning: Due to the lead in most solder, please wash your hands after soldering, before eating or drinking. If you drop the soldering iron, let it fall to the ground. Do not try and catch it. If you are pregnant or think you might be pregnant, have someone else do the soldering.

• Kit handed out by TAs
  • 1 7406, six open-collector drivers used for the LED interfaces
  • 6 LEDs (20 mA, 2 red, 2 yellow, 2 green)
  • 6 220 ohm 5%, 0.25 watt resistors  
  • 3 push-button switches  
  • 3 10k ohm 5%, 0.25 watt resistors  
  • 3 1.5k ohm 5%, 0.25 watt resistors  
  • 3 12k ohm 5%, 0.25 watt resistors  
  • 2 feet of 4-Wire 24 gauge solid wire  
  • 1 0.1 uF ceramic bypass cap, place across power and ground of the 7406  
  • 1 headphone jack, used in Lab 7 to create audio  
  • 1 20k ohm slide pot, used in Labs 8 and 9 to measure distance
  Those do not need to be returned.
   
• Items to get from TAs
  • Serial cable for Lab 9, used to connect one LM3S1968 to another
     
• Long term checkout
  • 1 LCD display
  If you check out the LCD and do not return it by 5/4, we will reduce your overall grade in EE319K one letter grade
   
• Computer
  We expect every EE319K student to have a personal laptop. In addition to being required to complete Exam 2, a personal laptop on which you develop your software and write your reports will greatly simplify lab completion. For example (and these are personal opinions of the EE319K instructors), both software development and report writing should be done without paper, pencil and erasers. Also, having a computer at home allows you to organize your information (files, directories etc.) as well as your schedule (allocate your software development time for that the time of day during which you are most creative and energetic.) Physiologically most people are more energetic in the morning. On the other hand, there are fewer distractions late at night. Some students do all their EE319K lab work on campus, but most find it convenient to configure their home computers to work with the EE319K hardware.

  You will need to install Keil uVision for the ARM on your laptop. For drawing electrical circuit diagrams some students use PCBArtist. Both of these applications run on a PC computer running Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7. The software development systems will run on any PC with a USB port. However, the more money you invest, the happier you'll be. All software will also run on a Macintosh with an Intel processor; see http://users.ece.utexas.edu/~valvano/On_a_Mac.htm.

• Lab computer usage
  Computers in ENS 507 are available for your usage. TA's in the laboratory are checking off programs and supervising while on duty, thus you can expect to have only a brief consultation with them. You should learn to develop software while on the computer. This course involves some projects that require extended periods of time to complete and a project cannot be done just overnight. Get started on an assignment early so you can get help if you need it. There are not enough machine hours to give everyone more than enough time to complete each program. We expect most students to have a laptop have access to a machine to run at home. Unfortunately, expect the laboratory to be crowded and machine time to be scarce if you attempt to work in the lab a day or two before an assignment is due. You will be competing with students in other courses for computer time. We need your assistance in the laboratory. Please report any equipment problems to the TA if they are present. If a TA is not present use the form provided in the lab. If you do this we can rapidly get repair service. Please help to keep the lab clean.
   

Software

• Keil uVision
  Instructions on how to download and install the (free) tool chain for our board can be found at http://users.ece.utexas.edu/~valvano/Volume1/uvision/.
   
• PCBArtist
  You will be drawing a 5 or 6 circuit diagrams as part of your lab assignments. You are free to draw these diagrams in any manner you wish as long as the information is presented in a complete and professional manner. One option for drawing circuits is PCBArtist, which can be downloaded here. The use of PCBArtist is optional for EE319K students.