TORONTO METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

Course Outline (F2022)

COE718: Embedded Systems Design

Instructor(s)Dr. Gul Khan [Coordinator]
Office: ENG448
Phone: (416) 979-5000 x 556084
Email: gnkhan@ryerson.ca
Office Hours: 2:00PM-300PM Tuesday
Calendar DescriptionThis course will cover the basics of embedded system organization, system on programmable-chip technologies and real-time systems. It provides the advance knowledge required for embedded computer design and development as well as real-time operating systems. Students are introduced to software development concepts applicable to real-time and embedded systems. Particularly ARM Cortex M3 will be studied as a representative embedded processor and embedded software development is carried out for ARM Cortex CPUs. The students will be able to grasp the main principles of embedded system design and understand the concept of hardware-software codesign, system on programmable chip (SoPC), real-time operating systems and scheduling techniques. Embedded system co-specification and partitioning is also introduced in the course. SystemC or other languages (e.g. UML, C, etc.) can be employed to present a unified view of the embedded systems. SystemC is introduced as a representative Co-specification language. Embedded hardware-software design and development tools (such as Altera Quartus II and SOPC builder) will be introduced.
PrerequisitesCOE538
Antirequisites

None

Corerequisites

None

Compulsory Text(s):
  1. Daniel W. Lewis, Fundamentals of Embedded Software with the ARM Cortex M3, 2nd Edition Pearson 2013, ISBN 978-0-13-291654-7
Reference Text(s):
  1. T. Martin, The Designer's Guide to the Cortex-M Processor Family: A Tutorial Approach, Elsevier, 2013, ISBN 978-0080982960
  2. M. Wolf, Computer as Components: Principles of Embedded Computing System Design, 4th Edition, Morgan Kaufman Publishers 2016, ISBN 978-0-12-805387-4
  3. J. Yiu, The Definitive Guide to the ARM Cortex-M3, 2nd Edition, Elsevier, 2010, ISBN 978-1856179638
  4. Alan Burns and Andy Wellings, Real-time Systems and Programming Languages,Addison-Wesley 2001, ISBN 0 201 72988
  5. Some relevant data sheets and review articles to be identified by the instructor will be available at the course web page.http://www.ee.ryerson.ca/~courses/coe718/support.html
Learning Objectives (Indicators)  

At the end of this course, the successful student will be able to:

  1. Interconnect engineering concepts related to microprocessors, computer hardware and real-time software systems to design embedded systems for real-world applications. Learn to employ specialized knowledge of subsystems like processor cores and other hardware/software system components to design an embedded computer system. (1c), (1d)
  2. Improve capabilities of using the technical knowledge of processor architecture, peripherals, programming, and CAD tools to design specific embedded computer systems. Solve various challenges of embedded software system design by employing real-time system software design methodologies to design, test and verify embedded software system design. (4a), (4c), (4b)
  3. Demonstrate the main features of the course-project and answer critical and project specific questions during project demo and oral sessions. Write project report by following a standard IEEE like format, where all the reports are evaluated based on their completeness, English, and citations. (7a), (7b)

NOTE:Numbers in parentheses refer to the graduate attributes required by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB).

Course Organization

3.0 hours of lecture per week for 13 weeks
2.0 hours of lab per week for 12 weeks
0.0 hours of tutorial per week for 12 weeks

Teaching Assistants1. Yoga Suhas Kuruba Manjunath, yoga.kuruba@ryerson.ca                                           2. Radin Hamidi Rad, radin@ryerson.ca
Course Evaluation
Theory
Midterm Exam 25 %
Final Exam 40 %
Laboratory
Lab 20 %
Project 15 %
TOTAL:100 %

Note: In order for a student to pass a course, a minimum overall course mark of 50% must be obtained. In addition, for courses that have both "Theory and Laboratory" components, the student must pass the Laboratory and Theory portions separately by achieving a minimum of 50% in the combined Laboratory components and 50% in the combined Theory components. Please refer to the "Course Evaluation" section above for details on the Theory and Laboratory components (if applicable).


ExaminationsMidterm exam is in Week 8 during lecture hours, 1.5 hours, (covers Weeks 1-7 lectures).
 Final exam, during exam period, 100-120 minutes, open book (covers Weeks 1-13).
Other Evaluation InformationThere will be a 5% per day penalty for late submission of labs and project.
 
Teaching MethodsLecture slides will also be posted on Open Course Webpage before the lecture.
 Annotated Lectures will be posted after the lectures
Other InformationNone

Course Content

Week

Hours

Chapters /
Section

Topic, description

1

3

Introduction to Embedded and Real-time Systems


2

3

Embedded Processor Architecture ARM7 and Cortex M3/M4 CPU Cores


3

3

ARM Cortex M3 Architecture and Programming


4

3

ARM Cortex M3 for Multitasking Applications


5

3

RTOS: Real time Operating Systems Pre-emptive and Non-preemptive Scheduling


6

3

Introduction to Real-time operating system, RTX


7

3

Real-time Scheduling


8

3

Mid-term Exam
 Real-time Scheduling


9

3

Rate-Monotonic and Earliest-Deadline-First Scheduling.
 Priority Inversion Problem and its Solutions


10

3

Hardware Software Co-design and Embedded System on Programmable Chips


11

3

Accelerator based Embedded System Fault-tolerant Embedded Systems


12

3

Fault-tolerant Embedded Systems.


13

3

Catching up and Course review


Laboratory(L)/Tutorials(T)/Activity(A) Schedule

Week

L/T/A

Description

2

ENG408

Lab-1: Introduction to uVision

3

ENG408

Lab-2: Exploring ARM Cortex-M3 Features
 Lab-1: Due

4

ENG408

Lab-3a: RTX based Task Scheduling
 Lab-2: Due
 

5

ENG408

Lab-3a: RTX based Task Scheduling
 Lab-3a: Due

6

ENG408

Lab-3b: Real-time Scheduling for Multi-threaded Application
 

7

ENG408

Lab-3b: Real-time Scheduling for Multi-threaded Application
 Lab-3b: Due
 Start of Course Project

8

ENG408

Lab-4: Real-time Scheduling and Priority Inversion
 Start of Course Project
 Course Project Summary 1-2 pages

9

ENG408

Course Project Progress
 Lab-4: Due

10

ENG408

Course Project Progress

11

ENG408

Course Project Interim Report

12

ENG408

Project Demo and presentation

13

ENG408

Project presentation 12/13
 Project report submission - End of Week 13

Policies & Important Information:

Students are reminded that they are required to adhere to all relevant university policies found in their online course shell in D2L and/or on the Senate website

  1. In accordance with the Policy on TMU Student E-mail Accounts (Policy 157), Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) requires that any electronic communication by students to TMU faculty or staff be sent from their official university email account;
  2. Any changes in the course outline, test dates, marking or evaluation will be discussed in class prior to being implemented;
  3. Assignments, projects, reports and other deadline-bound course assessment components handed in past the due date will receive a mark of ZERO, unless otherwise stated. Marking information will be made available at the time when such course assessment components are announced.
  4. Familiarize yourself with the tools you will need to use for remote learning. The Continuity of Learning Guide for students includes guides to completing quizzes or exams in D2L or Respondus, using D2L Brightspace, joining online meetings or lectures, and collaborating with the Google Suite.
  5. The University has issued a minimum technology requirement for remote learning. Details can be found at: https://torontomu.ca/covid-19/students/minimum-technology-requirements-remote-learning. Please ensure you meet the minimum technology requirements as specified in the above link.
  6. Toronto Metropolitan University COVID-19 Information and Updates (available https://www.torontomu.ca/covid-19/students) for Students summarizes the variety of resources available to students during the pandemic.
  7. Refer to our Departmental FAQ page for information on common questions and issues at the following link: https://www.ecb.torontomu.ca/guides/Student.Academic.FAQ.html.

Missed Classes and/or Evaluations

When possible, students are required to inform their instructors of any situation which arises during the semester which may have an adverse effect upon their academic performance, and must request any consideration and accommodation according to the relevant policies as far in advance as possible. Failure to do so may jeopardize any academic appeals.

  1. Academic Consideration Requests for missed work (e.g. missing tests, labs, etc) - According to Senate Policy 134, Section 1.2.3, if you miss any exams, quizzes, tests, labs, and/or assignments for health or compassionate reasons you need to inform your instructor(s) (via email whenever possible) in advance when you will be missing an exam, test or assignment deadline. When circumstances do not permit this, you must inform the instructor(s) as soon as reasonably possible". In the case of illness, a Toronto Metropolitan Student Health Certificate, or a letter on letterhead from an appropriate regulated health professional with the student declaration portion of the Student Health Certificate attached. For reasons other than illness, proper documentation is also required (e.g. death certificate, police report, TTC report). ALL supporting documentation for illness or compassionate grounds MUST be submitted within three (3) working days of the missed work." NOTE: You are required to submit all of your pertinent documentation through the University's online Academic Consideration Request system at the following link: prod.apps.ccs.ryerson.ca/senateapps.
  2. Religious, Aboriginal and Spiritual observance - If a student needs accommodation because of religious, Aboriginal or spiritual observance, they must submit a Request for Accommodation of Student Religious, Aboriginal and Spiritual Observance AND an Academic Consideration Request form within the first 2 weeks of the class or, for a final examination, within 2 weeks of the posting of the examination schedule. If the requested absence occurs within the first 2 weeks of classes, or the dates are not known well in advance as they are linked to other conditions, these forms should be submitted with as much lead time as possible in advance of the absence. Both documents are available at www.torontomu.ca/senate/forms/relobservforminstr.pdf. If you are a full-time or part-time degree student, then you submit the forms to your own program department or school;
  3. Academic Accommodation Support - Before the first graded work is due, students registered with the Academic Accommodation Support office (AAS - prod.apps.ccs.ryerson.ca/senateapps) should provide their instructors with an Academic Accommodation letter that describes their academic accommodation plan.

Virtual Proctoring Information (if used in this course)

Online exam(s) within this course may use a virtual proctoring system. Please note that your completion of any such virtually proctored exam may be recorded via the virtual platform and subsequently reviewed by your instructor. The virtual proctoring system provides recording of flags where possible indications of suspicious behaviour are identified only. Recordings will be held for a limited period of time in order to ensure academic integrity is maintained and then will be deleted.

Access to a computer that can support remote recording is your responsibility as a student. The computer should have the latest operating system, at a minimum Windows (10, 8, 7) or Mac (OS X 10.10 or higher) and web browser Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. You will need to ensure that you can complete the exam using a reliable computer with a webcam and microphone available, as well as a typical high-speed internet connection. Please note that you will be required to show your Toronto Metropolitan University OneCard prior to beginning to write the exam. In cases where you do not have a Toronto Metropolitan University OneCard, government issued ID is permitted.

Information will be provided prior to the exam date by your instructor who may provide an opportunity to test your set-up or provide additional information about online proctoring. Since videos of you and your environment will be recorded while writing the exam, please consider preparing the background (room / walls) so that personal details are not visible, or move to a room that you are comfortable showing on camera.

Academic Integrity

Toronto Metropolitan University's Policy 60 (the Academic Integrity policy) applies to all students at the University. Forms of academic misconduct include plagiarism, cheating, supplying false information to the University, and other acts. The most common form of academic misconduct is plagiarism - a serious academic offence, with potentially severe penalties and other consequences. It is expected, therefore, that all examinations and work submitted for evaluation and course credit will be the product of each student's individual effort (or an authorized group of students). Submitting the same work for credit to more than one course, without instructor approval, can also be considered a form of plagiarism.

Suspicions of academic misconduct may be referred to the Academic Integrity Office (AIO). Students who are found to have committed academic misconduct will have a Disciplinary Notation (DN) placed on their academic record (not on their transcript) and will normally be assigned one or more of the following penalties:

  1. A grade reduction for the work, ranging up to an including a zero on the work (minimum penalty for graduate work is a zero on the work);
  2. A grade reduction in the course greater than a zero on the work. (Note that this penalty can only be applied to course components worth 10% or less, and any additional penalty cannot exceed 10% of the final course grade. Students must be given prior notice that such a penalty will be assigned (e.g. in the course outline or on the assignment handout);
  3. An F in the course;
  4. More serious penalties up to and including expulsion from the University.

The unauthorized use of intellectual property of others, including your professor, for distribution, sale, or profit is expressly prohibited, in accordance with Policy 60 (Sections 2.8 and 2.10). Intellectual property includes, but is not limited to:

  1. Slides
  2. Lecture notes
  3. Presentation materials used in and outside of class
  4. Lab manuals
  5. Course packs
  6. Exams

For more detailed information on these issues, please refer to the Academic Integrity policy(https://www.torontomu.ca/senate/policies/pol60.pdf) and to the Academic Integrity Office website (https://www.torontomu.ca/academicintegrity).

Academic Accommodation Support

Toronto Metropolitan University acknowledges that students have diverse learning styles and a variety of academic needs. If you have a diagnosed disability that impacts your academic experience, connect with Academic Accommodation Support (AAS). Visit the AAS website or contact aasadmin@ryerson.ca for more information.

Note: All communication with AAS is voluntary and confidential, and will not appear on your transcript.

Important Resources Available at Toronto Metropolitan University

  1. The Library provides research workshops and individual assistance. If the University is open, there is a Research Help desk on the second floor of the library, or students can use the Library's virtual research help service at https://library.torontomu.ca/ask to speak with a librarian.

  2. Student Life and Learning Support offers group-based and individual help with writing, math, study skills, and transition support, as well as resources and checklists to support students as online learners.

  3. You can submit an Academic Consideration Request when an extenuating circumstance has occurred that has significantly impacted your ability to fulfill an academic requirement. You may always visit the Senate website and select the blue radial button on the top right hand side entitled: Academic Consideration Request (ACR) to submit this request).

    Please note that the Provost/Vice President Academic and Deans approved a COVID-19 statement for Fall 2022 related to academic consideration. This statement will be built into the Online Academic Consideration System and will also be on the Senate website (www.ryerson.ca/senate) in time for the Fall term:

    Policy 167: Academic Consideration for Fall 2022 due to COVID-19: Students who miss an assessment due to cold or flu-like symptoms, or due to self-isolation, are required to provide a health certificate. All absences must follow Senate Policy 167: Academic Consideration.

    Also NOTE: Policy 167: Academic Consideration does allow for a once per term academic consideration request without supporting documentation if the absence is less than 3 days in duration and is not for a final exam/final assessment. If the absence is more than 3 days in duration and/or is for a final exam/final assessment, documentation is required. For more information please see Senate Policy 167: Academic Consideration.

  4. TMU COVID-19 Information and Updates for Students summarizes the variety of resources available to students during the pandemic.

  5. TMU COVID-19 Vaccination Policy.

  6. If taking a remote course, familiarize yourself with the tools you will need to use for remote learning. The Remote Learning guide for students includes guides to completing quizzes or exams in D2L Brightspace, with or without Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor, using D2L Brightspace, joining online meetings or lectures, and collaborating with the Google Suite.

  7. Information on Copyright for students.

  8. At Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), we recognize that things can come up throughout the term that may interfere with a student's ability to succeed in their coursework. These circumstances are outside of one's control and can have a serious impact on physical and mental well-being. Seeking help can be a challenge, especially in those times of crisis.

    If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, please call 911 and go to the nearest hospital emergency room. You can also access these outside resources at anytime:

    If non-crisis support is needed, you can access these campus resources:


    We encourage all Toronto Metropolitan University community members to access available resources to ensure support is reachable. You can find more resources available through the Toronto Metropolitan University Mental Health and Wellbeing website.