Overview
This unit will introduce you to microcontroller basics and their real-world applications. Fundamentals of high-level structured language programming, essential for programming a microcontroller, will be taught in this unit. You will learn about different microcontroller families and their similarities and differences from an application point of view. You will also learn about microcontroller architecture, memory maps, addressing modes, interrupts, timers, counters, and hardware interfacing of a chosen microcontroller. You will learn how to program a microcontroller in a high-level language using an integrated development environment. Advance topics of reading analog inputs, implementation of Universal Synchronous Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter connections with the external world, Pulse Width Modulation, will also be covered in this unit. After learning the fundamentals of hardware interfacing you will practice them in a laboratory using a microcontroller development system based on a specific microcontroller and finally design and prototype a real-world application of the embedded system in your project using the same development system. Online students are required to attend the Residential School.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisite: (ENEE13020 Digital Electronics AND ENEE13018 Analogue Electronics) OR ENEX12002 Introductory Electronics
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2018
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Residential Schools
This unit has a Compulsory Residential School for distance mode students and the details are:
Click here to see your Residential School Timetable.
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 12-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 25 hours of study per week, making a total of 300 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from 'Have your Say' survey
The students have appreciated the clear, to the point, and easy to follow assignments.
The assignments will continue to be clear and concise
Feedback from 'Have your Say' survey
The students have appreciated the learning material and the depth of knowledge of the teaching staff.
Learning material will further be improved.
Feedback from 'Have your Say' survey
The students have appreciated the programming knowledge gained from this unit which even supports someone who does not have prior knowledge in the area to develop into a confident programmer of hardware.
Further improved support for learning will be provided.
Feedback from 'Have your Say' survey
Students have highlighted that the assessment criteria in the portfolio did not clearly define the particular project, which leads to several problems in the implementation stage.
The open-ended project allowed the portfolio assessment criteria to have space for any extraordinary projects to score high marks with successful completion. However, in the next offering, the project will be predefined and the portfolio assessment criteria will be clearly specified based on that project as a trial. If students prefer that setup over the open-ended project, then that model will be continued in the future offerings.
Feedback from 'Have your Say' survey
Students were unhappy with the level of support in some campuses.
Unit coordinator will use Zoom to provide additional support for all campuses.
- Apply fundamental structured programming knowledge to develop software solutions
- Program a microcontroller to interface with external devices such as analog and digital sensors, actuators and computers
- Analyse and design microcontroller based real-time applications using a given industry standard development system and software tools
- Prototype an embedded microcontroller system for an authentic application
- Communicate professionally using relevant technical terminology, symbols, and diagrams and effectively document design and prototyped solutions
- Work autonomously and as a team member to analyse problems and present solutions.
The Learning Outcomes for this unit are linked with Engineers Australia's Stage 1 Competency Standard for Professional Engineers.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 25% | ||||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 25% | ||||||
| 3 - Portfolio - 50% | ||||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 - Communication | ||||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | ||||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | ||||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | ||||||
| 5 - Team Work | ||||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | ||||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | ||||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | ||||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | ||||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 25% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 25% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Portfolio - 50% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Access to a document scanner and a software that can create pdf documents.
- Code::Blocks IDE for C programming (freeware from www.codeblocks.org )
- A computer with 9 pin serial port or USB to serial converter, speaker & microphone, Microsoft Windows OS(7 or later) with admin rights to install software, and good internet connectivity
- MPLAB IDE: MPALB X (provided by CQU on lab computers) or later, and MCC18 complier (free download from Microchip website)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
d.preethichandra@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
- Introduction to Embedded Systems and Microcontrollers
- Introduction to programming languages
- Introduction to C language Programming environment
Chapter
N/A
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Programming in C language - Fundamentals
Chapter
N/A
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
- PIC Microcontroller and MPLAB X - Introduction
- Programming in C language - Essentials I
Chapter
N/A
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
- PIC 18F4321 Memory, input and output
- Programming in C language - Essentials II
Chapter
N/A
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
- PIC18F4321 Architecture and addressing modes
- Programming in C language - Intermediate level
Chapter
N/A
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
PIC 18F4321 hardware interfacing I - Sensors and display units
Chapter
N/A
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
PIC 18F4321 hardware interfacing II - Motors and actuators
Chapter
N/A
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
PIC 18F4321 hardware interfacing III - timers and counters
Chapter
N/A
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Introduction to Assembly language programming
Chapter
N/A
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Project presentation - (for first set of groups)
Chapter
N/A
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Project presentation - (for second set of groups)
Chapter
N/A
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Embedded microcontroller future opportunities
Chapter
N/A
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
This unit will be offered in term 2 only for Mechatronics students in Mackay campus.
1 Written Assessment
This assignment is baced on C language programming. The essential C language skills needed for embedded microcontroller programming will be tested here and students should develop their own solutions to the given problems. Try to analyse the system first and develop a concept solution, develop a graphical representation of it first before start coding. All evidence of your own work including a soft copy of your workbook should be provided as evidence.
This is an individual assessment item and no teamwork or contribution from others allowed.
Week 5 Friday (10 Aug 2018) 11:55 pm AEST
Week 7 Friday (31 Aug 2018)
Marked assignment with feedback. However, there will be no model answers provided.
Detailed assessment criteria is in the assignment itself.
This assignment is based on C language programming skills. To obtain full marks students must provide all in detail problem solving and solution development evidences. Each student must have their unique programms developed by themselves. Answer to every problem should include a flowchart/ NS-diagram or other similar graphical representation of the solution. Students should submit the complete working C language code for each question. A clean working program as the answer to a question without evidence of development of it(ex: a soft copy of workbook pages relevant to it) will receive a maximum of 50% of the allocated marks for that question.
- Apply fundamental structured programming knowledge to develop software solutions
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Ethical practice
2 Written Assessment
This assignment is baced on essential C language programming skills needed for embedded microcontroller programming. The embedded hardware programming skills will be tested here and students should develop their own solutions to the given problems. Try to analyse the system first and develop a concept solution, develop a graphical representation of it first before start coding. All evidence of your own work including a soft copy of your workbook should be provided as evidence.
This assignment is based on PIC 18F4321 and all programs must be developed with MPLAB X IDE and in C language. More technical details will be provided with the assignment.
This is an individual assessment item and no teamwork or contribution from others allowed.
Week 9 Friday (14 Sept 2018) 11:55 pm AEST
Week 11 Friday (28 Sept 2018)
Marked assignment with feedback. However, there will be no model answers provided.
Detailed assessment criteria is in the assignment itself.
To obtain full marks students must provide all in detail problem solving and solution development evidences. Each student must have their unique programms developed by themselves. Answer to every problem should include a flowchart/ NS-diagram or other similar graphical representation of the solution. Students should submit the complete working C language code for each questionA clean working program as the answer to a question without evidence of development of it( ex: a soft copy of workbook pages relevant to it or explanation os your code) will receive a maximum of 50% of the allocated marks for that question.
- Program a microcontroller to interface with external devices such as analog and digital sensors, actuators and computers
- Analyse and design microcontroller based real-time applications using a given industry standard development system and software tools
- Prototype an embedded microcontroller system for an authentic application
- Work autonomously and as a team member to analyse problems and present solutions.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Ethical practice
3 Portfolio
Project Details
This is the major project in this unit and it is an open ended project. The team can decide the project in consultation with the lecturer and tutors and must finalyse it by week 3. The main hardware used is the CQU PIC Development kit and the accesories provided by CQU in around 3rd week of the unit. Students are free to use any sensors, actuators, and accesories to the project at their own cost. Project outcome(developed prototype) will be tested towards the end of the term.
Portfoio Details
Portfolio is an individual submission based on a team project. It must contain the following items and omission of any of them will result in a Fail Grade:
- Copy of team technical report on project (jointly developed by the team)
- Individual technical contribution report ( ONLY your technical contribution towards the group project)
- Individual programming report (ONLY your programming contributions towards the group project)
- Peer assessment in the prescribed format (format will be available in Moodle)
- Individual workbook (scanned /electronic copy of your workrbook including your had written work)
- Evidence of timely completion of assigned project work packages
Presentation details
Each group does a mid term presentation and final presentation where every member need to actively participate in both of them. The team project presentations will receive instant formative feedback at the end of the presentation. It is expected that all team members be available to answer the questions at the end of their presentation.
Week 12 Friday (5 Oct 2018) 11:55 pm AEST
The portfolio will not be returned until the unit grades are released as there is no final examination for this unit.
The portfolio marks will be allocated to the project depth, successfulnes of each individual element, successfulnes of integrating all elements into a complete working prototype, and professional documentation related to project.
The portfolio marks will be allocated to the level of the project, the level of successful completion, the level of programming techniques and effective memory usages etc. Individual student contribution must be provided by each group and this will be used to allocate marks for each group member for the project.
Detailed description of assessment criteria will be available in Moodle.
- Apply fundamental structured programming knowledge to develop software solutions
- Program a microcontroller to interface with external devices such as analog and digital sensors, actuators and computers
- Analyse and design microcontroller based real-time applications using a given industry standard development system and software tools
- Prototype an embedded microcontroller system for an authentic application
- Communicate professionally using relevant technical terminology, symbols, and diagrams and effectively document design and prototyped solutions
- Work autonomously and as a team member to analyse problems and present solutions.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Team Work
- Information Technology Competence
- Ethical practice
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
