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ENEE14006 - Embedded Microcontrollers

General Information

Unit Synopsis

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

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 4
Credit Points 12
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.25
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).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School Compulsory Residential School
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Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2020

Term 2 - 2020 Profile
Mackay
Mixed Mode
Term 1 - 2021 Profile
Bundaberg
Cairns
Gladstone
Mackay
Mixed Mode
Rockhampton
Term 2 - 2021 Profile
Mackay
Mixed Mode
Term 1 - 2022 Profile
Bundaberg
Cairns
Gladstone
Mackay
Mixed Mode
Rockhampton
Term 2 - 2022 Profile
Mackay
Mixed Mode
Term 1 - 2023 Profile
Bundaberg
Cairns
Gladstone
Mackay
Mixed Mode
Rockhampton
Term 2 - 2023 Profile
Mackay
Mixed Mode
Term 1 - 2024 Profile
Bundaberg
Cairns
Gladstone
Mackay
Mixed Mode
Rockhampton
Term 2 - 2024 Profile
Mackay
Mixed Mode

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).

Assessment Overview

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.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 25%
2. Written Assessment 25%
3. Portfolio 50%

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

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2022 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 66.67% response rate.

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.

Source: Student feedback survey.
Feedback
Good resources were provided as an introduction to C language and microcontroller programming
Recommendation
These good resources will be further enhanced.
Action Taken
We have further enhanced the resources and used an updated version of the C compiler software.
Source: Student feedback survey.
Feedback
The physical use of hardware in this unit gave the opportunity to apply knowledge into practice.
Recommendation
This practice will be continued.
Action Taken
We continued this practice in Term 2 2022
Source: Student feedback survey.
Feedback
The code on some lecture slides didn't work when copied and pasted.
Recommendation
Most of the code in lecture slides work straight away however, some code segments have left with errors to force students to debug the code by themselves when copied and pasted. Footnotes can be added to all example code to remind students debugging is required to develop coding skills.
Action Taken
We warned students about not blindly cutting and pasting the codes but instead having some insights about the codes. This practice worked well.
Source: Student feedback survey.
Feedback
Further exercises and explanations into some aspects of the hardware programming will be helpful.
Recommendation
New exercises and hardware programming examples will be added.
Action Taken
We provided scaffolding hardware programming exercises to help students develop their competency in using the hardware.
Source: Unit Coordinator's reflection
Feedback
Further exercises and explanations into some aspects of the hardware programming will be helpful.
Recommendation
Incorporating and highlighting hardware programming examples in lectures and tutorials and providing more explanation of codes.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Unit Coordinator's reflection
Feedback
The use of physical hardware in this unit gave the opportunity to apply knowledge into practice.
Recommendation
This practice will be continued.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Unit Coordinator's reflection
Feedback
C programming can be unfamiliar to some students. It is useful to provide more learning support
Recommendation
Supporting materials for learning C programming will be provided and tutorials will cover examples to bring students up to speed with the required programming level.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Apply fundamental structured programming knowledge to develop software solutions
  2. Program a microcontroller to interface with external devices such as analog and digital sensors, actuators and computers
  3. Analyse and design microcontroller based real-time applications using a given industry standard development system and software tools
  4. Prototype an embedded microcontroller system for an authentic application
  5. Communicate professionally using relevant technical terminology, symbols, and diagrams and effectively document design and prototyped solutions
  6. 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 •
2 - Written Assessment • • • •
3 - Portfolio • • • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
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 • • • • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Written Assessment • • • • • •
2 - Written Assessment • • • • • •
3 - Portfolio • • • • • • •