An Introductory Embedded Systems Teaching Using Open-Source Hardware and Software Platforms

Embedded systems are used everywhere in human lives. They are in alarm clocks, automobiles, mobile phones, personal digital assistants, home appliances and etc. The Faculty of Electronic Engineering and Technologies at Technical University of Sofia decided after many iterations and discussions with the partners companies and employers organizations to accept a new curriculum for Bachelor degree in Electronics. In order to prepare the students for the challenges of their future job in the new curriculum it was emphasized on the practice and especially on obtaining skills in embedded systems programming. The laboratory classes in “Practice on open source platforms programming” are intended to give the students basic knowledge and skills in this field. The open source hardware and software platforms—Arduino development board and the software IDE, which are globally recognized as tools for introductory education, are chosen for this purpose. In this paper it is proposed a practical approach for teaching the basics of embedded systems hardware and software. The stress is on the program control of inputs and outputs to convince the students in the flexibility and universality of the programmable devices. Also there are introduced the principles of the sensors and their application. Some examples are presented.