Carnegie Mellon University

Electrical and Computer Engineering

College of Engineering

Course Information

18-349: Introduction to Embedded Systems

Units:

12

Description:

This practical, hands-on course introduces the various building blocks and underlying scientific and engineering principles behind embedded real-time systems. The course covers the integrated hardware and software aspects of embedded processor architectures, along with advanced topics such as real-time, resource/device and memory management. Students can expect to learn how to program with the embedded architecture that is ubiquitous in cell-phones, portable gaming devices, robots, PDAs, etc. Students will then go on to learn and apply real-time principles that are used to drive critical embedded systems like automobiles, avionics, medical equipment, the Mars rover, etc. Topics covered include embedded architectures (building up to modern 16/32/64-bit embedded processors); interaction with devices (buses, memory architectures, memory management, device drivers); concurrency (software and hardware interrupts, timers); real-time principles (multi-tasking, scheduling, synchronization); implementation trade-offs, profiling and code optimization (for performance and memory); embedded software (exception handling, loading, mode-switching, programming embedded systems). Through a series of laboratory exercises with state-of-the-art embedded processors and industry-strength development tools, students will acquire skills in the design/implementation/debugging of core embedded real-time functionality.


Last Modified: 2023-07-26 1:34PM

Semesters offered:

  • Fall 2023
  • Spring 2023
  • Fall 2022
  • Spring 2022
  • Fall 2021
  • Fall 2020
  • Spring 2020
  • Fall 2019
  • Spring 2019
  • Fall 2018
  • Spring 2018
  • Fall 2017
  • Spring 2017
  • Fall 2016
  • Fall 2015
  • Fall 2014
  • Fall 2013
  • Fall 2012
  • Fall 2011
  • Fall 2010
  • Fall 2008
  • Fall 2007