The unit includes four online quizzes designed to assess students’ understanding of material covered in the two weeks preceding each quiz. Each quiz contains multiple-choice and short calculation questions. There is no time limit, and multiple attempts are allowed. For each attempt, the system randomly selects questions from a question bank. The final quiz mark is calculated as the average of all attempts, enabling students to improve their performance through subsequent attempts.

Each quiz opens two weeks before its closing date, and all attempts must be completed within this period. Students are strongly advised to review the relevant learning materials before attempting the quiz. Collectively, the four quizzes contribute 20% to the final unit mark, and students must achieve a minimum overall score of 30% overall to pass the unit.

Quizzes 1 to 4 are due on the Thursday of Weeks 3, 5, 7, and 9, respectively.

AI ASSESSMENT SCALE - NO AI
You must not use Al at any point during the assessment. You must demonstrate your core skills and knowledge.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This assessment is exempt from the 72-hour submission grace period and must be completed by the stated submission date/time.

Correct numerical answer or selection of the best answer among the available multiple-choice options.

This assessment is designed to provide structured, hands-on learning through a series of laboratory exercises conducted in both a simulated environment and on a practical microcontroller platform using relevant sensors and actuators. The laboratories will run from Week 1 to Week 8, giving students sufficient time to develop and consolidate their understanding progressively. During this period, students will participate in weekly workshops where they will design, implement, and test microcontroller-based systems. The exercises are aligned with the unit content and are intended to develop both conceptual understanding and practical competence.

Laboratory exercises will be completed in groups of up to five students. Each group is required to submit one laboratory report by the laboratory deadline.

Although the laboratory work is completed in a group, the laboratory assessment includes both group and individual components. Every fortnight, during the final hour of the workshop, each student will be assessed individually in person to evaluate their understanding and ability to apply the concepts covered in the laboratory exercises. An individual scale is calculated for each student as the average of their fortnightly individual assessment scores across the term. The overall laboratory mark for each student is calculated as: Overall Laboratory Mark = (Group Report Mark) × (Individual Scale).

Accordingly, achieving a high laboratory mark requires both strong group performance in the submitted report and consistent individual performance in the fortnightly assessments. Students are therefore expected to contribute actively to their group and to develop a solid personal understanding of the laboratory material.

AI ASSESSMENT SCALE - AI PLANNING
You may use AI for planning, idea development, and research. Your final submission should show how you have developed and refined these ideas.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This assessment is exempt from the 72-hour submission grace period and must be completed by the stated submission date/time.

Assessment Criteria
Your submission will be evaluated against the following criteria:

• Graphical Representation of the Program: You must include a clear and logically structured flowchart or block diagram that represents the overall operation of your program. The diagram should accurately reflect the program logic, control flow, major functions, and system interactions.
• Fully Functional Program and Demonstration: The program must be fully operational and produce the expected outcomes. Functionality will be assessed through:
  • A face-to-face demonstration of the working system during the workshops, and
  • A clear verbal explanation of the program during the demonstration.

The written group report must also support and align with the demonstrated implementation.

• Clear and Correct Code Explanation: The report must provide a comprehensive and accurate explanation of the program, including:
  • The purpose of each function
  • Configuration parameters and initialisation settings
  • The logic of key program sections
  • Proper in-code comments for all major sections

Explanations must demonstrate a sound understanding of how and why the code works.

• Use of Code Screenshots in the Report: Relevant screenshots of the code must be included in the report. Each screenshot must be clearly referenced and accompanied by a concise explanation of the corresponding code section.
• Test Plan and Test Results: The report must include:
  • A clearly defined test plan outlining how the system was tested
  • The test conditions and expected outcomes
  • A summary of the actual results obtained
  • A brief evaluation of whether the implementation met the expected performance

All components must be clearly presented, logically structured, and technically accurate.

This project is a core component of the unit and provides both structured guidance and open-ended opportunities for students to demonstrate their capabilities. The primary objective is to collaboratively design and implement a functional prototype of an embedded system that addresses a real-world problem using a microcontroller board and relevant hardware components. Students will work in groups of up to five to develop a shared core system. In addition, each student must design and implement an individual subsystem or feature that demonstrates their technical competence, creativity, and understanding. While the system is developed collaboratively, individual contributions must be clearly identifiable and will be assessed separately.

At the end of the term, the project assessment will consider both the overall performance of the integrated system and the quality of each student’s individual component. The final project mark for each student is calculated as: Individual Project Mark = Group Portfolio Mark × Individual Scale. The individual scale reflects the quality of the student’s individual component and their demonstrated understanding of the project.

Achieving a high project mark, therefore, requires both strong group performance in the submitted portfolio and strong individual performance in the assigned subsystem. Students are expected to contribute meaningfully to the team while developing a solid personal understanding of the complete system. This project provides valuable experience in collaborative engineering practice while enabling students to showcase their individual expertise in embedded system design and problem-solving.

AI ASSESSMENT SCALE - AI PLANNING
You may use AI for planning, idea development, and research. Your final submission should show how you have developed and refined these ideas.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This assessment is exempt from the 72-hour submission grace period and must be completed by the stated submission date/time.

Assessment Criteria – Group Project (Group and Individual Components)
The group project will be assessed based on both the overall system performance and each student’s individual contribution. The following criteria will be used:

 
1. Project Demonstration (Group and Individual Assessment)
Each group must demonstrate a fully functional project to the Unit Coordinator.

• The system must operate as intended and meet the stated requirements.
• Each student must individually demonstrate their assigned subsystem or feature.
• During the demonstration, each student must clearly explain the design, implementation, and functionality of their component.
• Explanations must be supported with evidence such as design sketches, circuit diagrams, flowcharts, test results, screenshots, or other relevant documentation.

Students must demonstrate clear understanding of both their own subsystem and how it integrates into the overall system.

2. Goal Achievement and Technical Implementation (Group Assessment)
The project will be evaluated on how effectively it meets the specified objectives:

• Demonstrates clear understanding of the project goals and requirements.
• Develops a technically sound, complete, and correct solution.
• Successfully achieves the intended outcomes specified in the assignment.
• Provides verifiable evidence of functionality (e.g., live demonstration, video recordings, screenshots, or test data).
• Shows appropriate system integration between subsystems.

3. Project Report and Problem-Solving Process (Group and Individual Assessment)
The group must submit a report following the prescribed structure. The report must demonstrate:

• A clear, logical, and systematic problem-solving approach.
• Decomposition of complex problems into manageable tasks or modules.
• Appropriate selection and use of algorithms, data structures, and programming constructs.
• A detailed explanation of the development process, including design decisions, testing, iterations, and refinements.
• Inclusion of relevant graphical representations (e.g., flowcharts, block diagrams, system architecture diagrams).
• Clear identification of each student’s individual contribution.

4. Software Code Quality (Individual and Group Assessment)
The submitted code will be evaluated based on:

• Adherence to standard programming and naming conventions.
• Clear structure and modular design using functions (in C language).
• Clean, readable, and well-organised code.
• Appropriate and meaningful comments explaining key logic, variables, configurations, and functional sections.
• Correct, efficient, and reliable implementation.

 A high-quality project will demonstrate strong technical competence, effective teamwork, clear individual contributions, sound engineering design, and professional documentation. Both group performance and individual understanding are essential for achieving a high mark.