ICSD-7853 Microprocessors

Course details

Instructor: Assistant Professor Asimakis Leros
ICSD building, office B-10

Lectures: Wed 3-5, Myrtó

Lab: Thu 9-12, Artemis

Office hours: Wed 10-12, Thu 12-1

Course content and objectives

Microprocessors is part of a sequence of courses on computer hardware. The course focuses in the design of digital systems using microprocessors and microcontrollers and is organized around the AVR 8-bit microcontrollers. We will address the internal architecture, interface with memory and I/O devices, and programming in Assembly and C.

Specific course objectives include:

• a good knowledge of the architecture and functions of microprocessors and microcontrollers,
• an introduction to the interfacing of microcomputer systems to external devices,
• an introduction to programming microprocessors and microcontrollers in Assembly and C in order to implement an application,
• better understanding of the relation between hardware and software in computer systems,
• familiarization with datasheets,
• a different perspective to human-computer interface,
• an introduction to the hardware used in the Internet of Things.

The course material can be found through e-class.

Lab

In the lab we will use the ATMega328P microcontroller by Atmel (currently owned by Microchip), the Arduino Uno development board and the Atmel (Microchip) Studio 7 development environment. The Αrduino IDE will be available at the lab, but will not be used currently. We will be programming the microcontroller both in Assembly and C.

Eight lab exercises are planned (for details, see course schedule below. Each exersice will be available a week in advance for you to prepare. You will need roughly four to five hours of preparation per each exercise for studying the course material and datasheets, preparing a draft of your code and debugging. You may need more effort if you have no previous exposure to Assembly language. It is important to have done this work before the lab so that we don't start from zero; during the lab session we will debug and test your code, as well as see various extensions. Contact me in case of any implementation difficulties before the lab. Your lab report will be due five days after the lab session.

There are ten workstations in the lab, each with a PC, Arduino board and other equipment. There will be two 2-hour sessions on Thursdays, so a maximum of 20 students can be accommodated. It is important to register as early as possible.

Your presence in the lab and lectures is mandatory and important. Inform me as soon as possible in case of an absense. Normally, there will be no makeup for lab sessions lost.

Course project

Apart from the weekly lab exercises, there will be a larger scale project. You should expect to put around 40 to 50 hours of work (roughly 7--8 hours per week for 5--6 weeks). The subject will be of your choice, although I can offer suggestions and advice. You may use any electronic or printed sources, as long as (a) I agree and (b) you explicitly mention the sources in your reports. Important dates are:

• Project proposal: 5--15 April
• Intermediate presentation and report: end May
• Final presentation: ~15 June
• Final report: ~25 June

The project deliverables are the hardware and software implemented, the project report, and a 2-minute video on YouTube.

Textbook and literature

• Kiamal Pekmezci "Microcomputer Systems" (in Greek), vol II, Symmetria 2009. Covers the AVR microcontrollers with several examples. Multiple copies available at the library.
• AVR ATMega328P datasheets
• AVR instruction set manual
• AVR assembler manual
• Notes on writing C code for the AVR
• Atmel/Microchip Studio 7 user's guide

We will rely heavily on the datasheets, and also use various web resources.

Presentations from lectures:

• Introduction to microprocessors and microcontrollers (corrections pending!)
• AVR Overview
• AVR - introduction to assembly language programming
• AVR - Digital I/O

Lab assignments:

• Lab assignment 1: Arithmetic and logical operations in Assembly.
• Loops, arrays and pointers in Assembly. Port programming (digital I/O).

Other material:

• Pinout of the Arduino board and ATMega328P chip

Prerequisites

• Logic design (1st year ICSD-2003 course+lab or equivalent): number systems, Boolean algebra, digital design using gates and flip-flops, adders, encoders/decoders, latches, counters, shift registers.
• Computer architecture (2nd year ICSD-3354 course+lab or equivalent): CPU organization and operation, buses, main memory addressing, RISC vs CISC systems, exposure to Assembly and machine language (e.g. MIPS).

Grading policy

• Lab exercises: 50% (roughly 8 x 6%). The grade is based on successful implementation, efficient code, lab testing and presentation, and completeness of lab report.
• Course project: 40%. The grade is based on the efficient implementation (both H/W and S/W), the problem complexity (i.e. time devoted), lab presentation (intermediate and final), and completeness of deliverables.
• Active participation in lectures and lab: 10%. The grade is based on the contribution to the course via questions, comments, suggestions etc during lecture and lab sessions (I will not be counting number of questions or messages, though).

Pay attention to deadlines! Reports received up to three days past the deadline will incur a grade penalty of 10%. After that, no reports will be accepted.

Academic honesty policy

You may freely discuss exercises with each other, but each of you must produce his own personal work. Lab reports that dispaly unusually similarity will not be graded!

The same holds for the course project. In addition, you may freely use any sources, electronic or printed, as long as you acknowledge them in your report.

Course calendar

(Watch out for announcements; there may be some changes in future lectures)