Interactive Real-Time Embedded Systems Education Infused with Applied Internet Telephony

The transition from traditional circuit-switched phone systems to modern packet-based Internet telephony networks demands tools to support Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) development. In this paper, we introduce the XinuPhone, an integrated hardware/software approach for educating users about VoIP technology on a real-time embedded platform. We propose modular course topics for design-oriented, hands-on laboratory exercises: filter design, timing, serial communications, interrupts and resource budgeting, network transmission, and system benchmarking. Our open-source software platform encourages development and testing of new CODECs alongside existing standards, unlike similar commercial solutions. Furthermore, the supporting hardware features inexpensive, readily available components designed specifically for educational and research users on a limited budget. The XinuPhone is especially good for experimenting with design trade-offs as well as interactions between real-time software and hardware components

From the editor: real-time and embedded systems--teaching reliability

Journal ArticleCan we teach students to build reliable embedded software? Although it would be rash to say that a general agreement exists on how to teach embedded systems, there's certainly a growing understanding of the issues. For example, the excellent August 2005 issue of ACM Transactions on Embedded Computing Systems devoted 182 pages to embedded systems education. However, surprisingly few of these pages discuss the problem of teaching students to build reliable software systems

XinuPi3: Teaching Multicore Concepts Using Embedded Xinu

As computer platforms become more advanced, the need to teach advanced computing concepts grows accordingly. This paper addresses one such need by presenting XinuPi3, a port of the lightweight instructional operating system Embedded Xinu to the Raspberry Pi 3. The Raspberry Pi 3 improves upon previous generations of inexpensive, credit card-sized computers by including a quad-core, ARM-based processor, opening the door for educators to demonstrate essential aspects of modern computing like inter-core communication and genuine concurrency. Embedded Xinu has proven to be an effective teaching tool for demonstrating low-level concepts on single-core platforms, and it is currently used to teach a range of systems courses at multiple universities. As of this writing, no other bare metal educational operating system supports multicore computing. XinuPi3 provides a suitable learning environment for beginners on genuinely concurrent hardware. This paper provides an overview of the key features of the XinuPi3 system, as well as the novel embedded system education experiences it makes possible

Experiments with embedded system design at UMinho and AIT

Nowadays, embedded systems are central to modern life, mainly due to the scientific and technological advances of the last decades that started a new reality in which the embedded systems market has been growing steadily, along with a monthly or even weekly emergence of new products with different applications across several domains. This embedded system ubiquity was the drive for the following question ”Why should we focus on embedded systems design?” that was answered in [1, 2] with the following points: (1) high and fast penetration in products and services due to the integration of networking, operating system and database capabilities, (2) very strategic field economically and (3) a new and relatively undefined subject in academic environment. Other adja- cent questions have been raised such as ”Why is the design of embedded systems special?”. The answer for this last question is based mainly on several problems raised by the new technologies, such as the need for more human resources in specialized areas and high learning curve for system designers. As pointed in [1], these problems can prevent many companies from adopting these new technologies or force them not to respond timely in mastering these technological and market challenges. In this paper, it is described how staff at ESRG-UMinho 1 and ISE-AIT 2 faced the embedded systems challenges at several levels. It starts to de- scribe the development of the educational context for the new technolo- gies and show how our Integrated Master Curriculum in Industrial Elec- tronics and Computer Engineering has been adapted to satisfy the needs of the major university customers, the industry

A Framework Architecture for Student Learning in Distributed Embedded Systems

Academic courses focused on individual microcomputers or client/server applications are no longer sufficient for students to develop knowledge in embedded systems. Current and near-term industrial systems employ multiple interacting components and new network and security approaches; hence, academic preparation requires teaching students to develop realistic projects comparable to these real-world products. However, the complexity, breadth, and technical variations of these real-world products are difficult to reproduce in the classroom. This paper outlines preliminary work on a framework architecture suitable for academic teaching of modern embedded systems including the Internet of Things. It defines four layers, two of which are at the edges of the network, and not adequately covered in academia. For each layer of the architecture, specific technology and suitable devices are identified. Desired academic outcomes for courses using projects based on the architecture are identified. Feedback and comparison is sought on how effective student course and research activities based on the framework will be to real-world embedded systems developers

Teaching embedded systems engineering in a software-oriented computing degree

Traditional software-oriented computing degrees do not include courses on embedded systems design in their syllabus, since in the past embedded applications were seen as small-sized solutions developed without the need of engineering approaches. This reality has dramatically changed in the last decade and nowadays several embedded systems are quite complex. Embedded systems present several idiosyncrasies that make their development more difficult and complex than desktop solutions, namely when considering non-functional requirements, time-related deadlines, or the correctness of the solution. To be well prepared for their professions, students of software-oriented computing degrees must acquire skills and competencies in embedded systems engineering. Being able to master high-level programming languages and to develop solutions only for desktop computers means that the students cannot consider numerous opportunities, after graduation. This paper discusses which topics in embedded software design to include in a second cycle degree on Software Engineering that was structured to consider the Bologna Declaration that is now being used in Europe to recast all university degrees. The syllabus of a 15-ECTS module dedicated to teach the fundamental concepts of embedded systems engineering and embedded software development is also described