Microcontrollers project

Project 2 resource page

For Romanian-speaking students in the English group (TST-en): you should use the Romanian documentation and PDFs because they are slightly newer and contain some updates. The project list, requirements and grading are exactly the same for TST and TST-en.

Documentation

The microcontroller and its resources
The test software, with multiple purpose:
- it is already programmed in the processor you received, so it allows you to test the board after assembly: the functionality of the clock, LED, switch, and serial port; you can re-load this .HEX file at any time using the PC-loader if you want to test your board with a "known good" program.
- by examining the source, see how to access the peripherals (one input pin, one output pin, the serial port, the timers) and how the various registers are initialized.
- it enables you to learn how use the CVAVR IDE and compiler; you receive a functional project as an example, and you can examine, modify and recompile it.
The quickest way to start your own project is to base it on this test project. Prior basic knowledge of C is assumed. For those with no C background, some elements of C are also taught during the course sessions.
Explanations for the test software
The PC-loader for loading a .HEX file in the processor's FLASH, using the serial connection. You need to hold the switch on the board pressed while powering on, this will invoke the Boot Loader which resides in the chip's Flash, and which is responsible with communicating with the PC Loader program (AVR Buster)
Driver for the USB-TTL serial converter CH340G I provide for working on your own laptop (if not installed automatically upon plug-in)
Frequently Asked Questions
Note: the information page in Romanian is here. Under Google Chrome you can right-click and "translate into English" - the result is pretty usable (for an engineer). Look for datasheets and other useful links. The Romanian PDFs in the first section - common part - are not needed (the English ones on this page are translations). The other sections contain supplementary material which may be useful.

Project list

The list of projects is here.
The procedure for choosing a project is as follows:

Each team selects a list of desired projects, in order, e.g. D1, L14, D23, L15, D2 and submits it using this form
The deadline is December 13, 2019
After the deadline I will draw each team's project in a lottery (in case some projects are preferred by more than one team) and publish the results here. There is a common project list and lottery for all my groups in the current semester (Romanian AND English groups, TST+TSTeng).
Teams who do not register in time will loose the opportunity for the lottery and will only be able to choose projects which are still available, but no later than Sunday december 7.

Project report

Each team must create the documentation/report for the project as a website (hosting is done on matrix.elcom.pub.ro. You may use any program generating HTML, even Microsoft Word using Save As HTML, or even write HTML by hand. Since this is not a Web Design class, I will not grade you according to the "aesthetics" of the page, but only based on its technical content. The website must contain the following sections, clearly separated:

Section "Project Description": describe in words how your project will be implemented, what are its specific functions, what special components will be needed, what resources of the processor you will use (I/Os, timers, etc)
For "Project 2 Preparation Activity" the deadline for thi section is January 17, 2020.
Section "Hardware Description": it will contain:
- the schematics (draw them in any electronics CAD program (i.e. Orcad, Eagle,...) and export the result as GIF/PNG so it is viewable on your site)
- the bill of materials (components list in tabular form)
- some photos of your board (newer photos do not replace older ones, but are added as you add more components to the board)
- a textual description of any hardware features that were not already present in the common part of the project (uP, serial port, power supply) and that you added yourself, including I/O: sensors, LEDs, display, switches, etc.
Section "Software description": you will not publish code, but you will describe how the software works, and what resources it uses (ports, memory, timers, interrupts...). Note: the code will be available for download as a .ZIP archive only for the last session.
Section "Results and Conclusions": describe here how you solved any specific issues, what the final functionality is, etc.
Section "Bibliography"

In order to upload your web site to the server:
- you need to use FileZilla (or equivalent) and select "SFTP - SSH File Transfer Protocol" as protocol; the port number is not 22, it is given in class. Using simple FTP will not work.
- the site must be in a folder called public_html, placed in the home directory of your account. Using any other name will not work. Thus, you must create the folder public_html on your home machine, save the website into it, and then upload the folder with all its contents.
- lowercase is not the same as uppercase; take care of the case especially when linking to photos and uploading them; photo1.jpg and photo1.JPG are not the same! Also, it is not recommended to have spaces in your file names.
- assuming your user account is A07, your site will be visible at matrix.elcom.pub.ro/~A07 (note the ~ sign).
- if you have basic Linux knowledge, you can use putty under windows (or any other ssh client - use the same port as for SFTP, not standard port 22!) to access your account in a terminal; for instance, to change your password, login via ssh, then issue the command "passwd"; you will be asked for the old and new password. You may use "mc" (Midnight Commander, which looks similar to Windows Commander/Total Commander/Norton Commander) for file management, if needed, i.e. to inspect your files and even modify them without uploading the whole site.

Grading

Your grade is composed of the following:

10p - demonstration of the serial TTL transmission on the oscilloscope: you show me the 10 bits of a character on-screen, in real time, and explain the correspondence of the bits to the ASCII code (binary and decimal) of the transmitted character
10p - following modifications of the test software, uploaded and working on your own board:
- add to the version number your team number, in the message printed upon reception of the "?" character
- instead of 2 frequencies, the LED should blink at 3 different frequencies of your choosing, upon successive keypresses.
This demonstrates you are able to use the compiler, you understand the test software, and you can use the PC Loader to load a new .HEX file on your board
Note: the two steps listed above must be done at the latest during week 12. During the final sessions (weeks 13+14) you will only be able to show me the next steps, and the points for the first two steps will be permanently lost.
10p - quality of the soldering and general aspect of the finished board
20p - project report (website) (5p week 8, 5p week 12, 10p final session)
25p - functional demonstration of the specific part
25p - answers to questions regarding your schematic (from your website) and source code, during the final session. Note that you will get no points by showing me a project copied from the Internet (or done by someone else) that you can't explain to me. I will ask specific questions: what you used a certain variable or component for, why you use a certain numeric value (chosen by you) instead of another, where exactly in the source there is a specific function, etc. This part of the grade is per student, nor per team. It is acceptable to look for similar projects on the Internet, but only as reference; I assume everything you show me is done by yourself, so if it's not, it must, at least, be fully understood.

I will look at your source code during the final session. You will or download it from your site (you must upload it in a .zip archive prior to coming to the last session).