Advanced Embedded Systems with Arduino Course

Lesson 1 • Microcontroller Architecture Essentials

Covers CPU cores, memory types, and bus structures inside AVR and ARM microcontrollers. Establishes hardware vocabulary used throughout the course.

Lesson 2 • Arduino Board Variants and Selection

Compares Uno, Mega, Nano, and 32-bit boards by specs and use cases. Guides hardware selection decisions for embedded projects.

Lesson 3 • Sketch Structure and Execution Model

Explains setup(), loop(), and the bare-metal execution model with no OS scheduler. Prepares students to reason about timing and control flow.

Lesson 4 • IDE Setup and Toolchain Configuration

Installs and configures the Arduino IDE and CLI, board packages, and drivers. Connects toolchain setup to efficient compile-upload cycles.

Lesson 1 • PWM Signal Generation

Generates fast PWM and phase-correct PWM waveforms using timer compare units. Applies PWM to motor speed control and LED dimming circuits.

Lesson 2 • External and Pin-Change Interrupts

Configures INT0/INT1 and PCINT vectors for edge-triggered event detection. Links interrupt latency and priority to real-time system requirements.

Lesson 3 • Non-Blocking Scheduling Patterns

Implements cooperative task scheduling using millis() and timer flags without an RTOS. Replaces delay()-based code with event-driven state machines.

Lesson 4 • Hardware Timer Architecture

Examines 8-bit and 16-bit timer registers, prescalers, and overflow behaviour. Provides the register-level foundation for all timer-based techniques.

Lesson 1 • Digital Filtering Algorithms

Implements moving average, exponential, and median filters in firmware. Quantifies filter latency and noise reduction for sensor fusion decisions.

Lesson 2 • Signal Conditioning and Amplification

Designs op-amp gain stages and level-shifting circuits to match sensor output to ADC range. Reduces offset and gain error before digitisation.

Lesson 3 • Sensor Interfacing Techniques

Connects resistive, capacitive, and voltage-output sensors to ADC inputs correctly. Covers biasing, loading effects, and input impedance matching.

Lesson 4 • ADC Architecture and Configuration

Configures ADC prescaler, reference voltage, and conversion modes for accuracy. Connects ADC settings to signal bandwidth and noise trade-offs.

Lesson 1 • UART Protocol and Serial Debugging

Configures baud rate, frame format, and flow control for UART communication. Uses serial output as a primary debugging and data-logging channel.

Lesson 2 • I2C Bus Design and Addressing

Implements I2C master reads and writes with correct ACK/NACK handling. Resolves address conflicts and bus contention in multi-device systems.

Lesson 3 • Logic Analyser Capture and Analysis

Captures and decodes UART, SPI, and I2C transactions with a logic analyser. Correlates waveform anomalies to firmware bugs for rapid diagnosis.

Lesson 4 • Protocol Error Detection and Recovery

Identifies framing errors, bus lockups, and timeout conditions across all three protocols. Implements watchdog-based recovery and retry logic.

Lesson 1 • Power Budget and Sleep Modes

Calculates system power budgets and applies AVR sleep modes to extend battery life. Integrates current sensing for overload protection.

Lesson 2 • Stepper Motor Control Techniques

Implements full-step, half-step, and microstepping sequences for stepper motors. Tunes current decay mode and acceleration profiles for smooth motion.

Lesson 3 • Closed-Loop PID Control Implementation

Implements a discrete PID controller in firmware for motor speed and position loops. Tunes Kp, Ki, and Kd using step-response analysis.

Lesson 4 • DC Motor Drive Circuits

Designs H-bridge circuits and selects gate drivers for bidirectional DC motor control. Connects PWM duty cycle to motor speed and torque output.

Lesson 1 • SD Card File System Integration

Mounts FAT16/FAT32 file systems on SD cards via SPI and performs file I/O. Implements buffered writes to balance throughput and data integrity.

Lesson 2 • Flash and PROGMEM Optimisation

Stores constant data in Flash using PROGMEM to free SRAM for runtime variables. Applies compiler directives and size analysis tools to reduce code footprint.

Lesson 3 • EEPROM Read, Write, and Wear Leveling

Reads and writes EEPROM with update-only writes to minimise erase cycles. Implements wear leveling for high-frequency configuration storage.

Lesson 4 • AVR Memory Map and Constraints

Maps Flash, SRAM, and EEPROM regions and quantifies their impact on firmware design. Identifies stack-heap collision as the primary runtime failure mode.

Lesson 1 • Security and Data Integrity for IoT

Applies TLS, HMAC, and token-based authentication to protect embedded IoT endpoints. Addresses firmware update security and credential storage.

Lesson 2 • Bluetooth Classic and BLE Communication

Pairs HC-05 modules for serial Bluetooth and configures BLE GATT services on ESP32. Builds a mobile-controlled embedded application.

Lesson 3 • Wi-Fi Module Integration

Connects ESP8266 and ESP32 modules to Arduino via AT commands and native SDK. Establishes TCP/IP and HTTP connections for data upload.

Lesson 4 • MQTT Protocol for IoT Messaging

Implements MQTT publish and subscribe patterns for lightweight sensor telemetry. Configures QoS levels, retained messages, and last-will topics.

Lesson 1 • Performance Profiling and Optimisation

Measures ISR latency, loop timing, and memory usage with GPIO toggles and profiling macros. Applies targeted optimisations without sacrificing readability.

Lesson 2 • Capstone Project Delivery and Review

Delivers a fully documented embedded system meeting defined requirements through peer and instructor review. Produces a technical report and demonstration.

Lesson 3 • System Architecture and Partitioning

Decomposes a complex embedded system into hardware and firmware modules with defined interfaces. Applies layered architecture to isolate hardware dependencies.

Lesson 4 • Firmware Error Handling and Watchdog

Implements defensive coding, assertion macros, and watchdog resets for fault tolerance. Logs fault codes to EEPROM for post-mortem analysis.