Embedded systems are becoming ubiquitous. From cell phones,
to household appliances, to automobiles, many consumer products are being equipped
with one or more processors that interact with the electronic or mechanical parts
of the product. The software engineering practices for embedded systems, however,
are still rather primitive. Many systems are programmed in assembly or C; other
systems are programmed with high-level but inefficient languages such as Matlab/Simulink;
there is little use of OO languages or techniques. For teaching embedded systems
programming, the current alternatives are using real equipment in an expensive
laboratory for small numbers of students or teaching a dry course.
Dr. Gerald Baumgartner and his group are developing a virtual
testbed that employs an actual digital signal processor (DSP) but in which the
external devices controlled by the DSP, such as power switches or motors,
are simulated. We will use this testbed for developing a course sequence
that allows teaching hands-on embedded systems programming to large numbers
of students at low cost. This virtual testbed could also serve as a testing
tool for testing individual embedded systems with part of the hardware attached
but with other hardware or the communication with other processors being simulated.
Once this virtual testbed is completed, we will use it as a research platform
for developing language support and software engineering tool support for
embedded systems programming.
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