Название: Embedded Systems Design using the MSP430FR2355 LaunchPad, 2nd Edition
Автор: Brock J. LaMeres
Издательство: Springer
Год: 2023
Страниц: 479
Язык: английский
Формат: pdf
Размер: 44.3 MB

This textbook for courses in Embedded Systems introduces students to necessary concepts, through a hands-on approach.

Embedded computers represent one of the most pervasive technologies of our time. When most people think of computers, they think of their laptops and workstations, or even the servers that are the backbone of the Internet; however, when one begins to contemplate how many technologies around them use small, inexpensive computers embedded as their “brains,” one begins to more fully understand the magnitude of how many embedded computers exist in our society. If you look around any room you will see technology that is so commonplace, you may not even realize that most of it is run by an internal computer. Technologies such as appliances, thermostats, handheld devices, projectors, televisions, personal assistants, and radios all have small computers within them that control their operation. As one starts to notice all of the embedded computers around them, they will quickly notice that there are orders of magnitude more embedded computers than the standard general-purpose computers that run Windows or iOS. As these technologies become smarter and are Wi-Fi connected, we move into era called the Internet of Things. This next technological paradigm shift will turn all of the embedded computers into a collaborative network in an attempt to make our lives better by automating taking mundane tasks.

Simultaneous to the exponential increase in embedded computers in our society is the need for engineers and software developers that can build and program these systems. Due to the high popularity of embedded computers, there is also a wide range of embedded computer platforms. As such, the textbooks that exist to aid in the education of embedded computers are somewhat fragmented. Textbooks for embedded computers aren’t able to be written at only the theoretical level such as circuits and electronics textbooks. Instead, they must identify a computer platform and focus the content on that specific embedded computer technology. This leads to a large number of embedded systems books to support the large number of embedded platforms. This also leads to books becoming obsolete much faster than traditional engineering textbooks.

One reason for a new book in this area is creating comprehensive content around a widely popular embedded computer, the Texas Instruments MSP430. The MSP430 is a modern computer platform that is mature in the market and has a great deal of technical and educational support behind it. This means that this platform will be relevant and supported for at least the next 10–15 years.

A second reason for a new book in this area is to provide content the way people actual learn (i.e., by doing). Current embedded systems books, even those targeting the MSP430, tend to only provide small code segments that can’t be directly run on a target platform. This new book approaches content delivery around the model that the reader is sitting at a computer with an MSP430 plugged in and running each of the examples as they move through the book. This learn-a-little, do-a-little is a proven pedagogical strategy. It also supports both active learning within the classroom and self-regulated learning for individual readers.

A third reason for a new book in this area is to provide a seamless delivery of both assembly language and C language programming of the MSP430. Most embedded systems books are structured in one of three ways: (1) they only cover assembly; (2) they only cover C; (3) they attempt to cover both but don’t provide sufficient details of either. This new book will begin in assembly language as a means to show the lower-level operation of the computer hardware. It will then move into C to implement more complex systems that require abstracting the lower-level hardware. With the design of the book consisting of examples in both languages that can be directly coded and run, there will not be a void between the examples and real implementation of the concepts as seen in other books.