Course syllabus

Course-PM

EDA234 / DIT234 EDA234 / DIT234 Digital project laboratory lp2 HT24 (7.5 hp)

The course is offered by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering

Contact details

Arne Linde - examiner, lecturer, and laboratory responsible

Xu Wang - TA
Galo Sanchez - TA

Available via Canvas messages 

Course purpose

This is a project-oriented course in which groups of students, starting from a specification of a relatively complex digital system, develop a hardware architecture that is subsequently implemented, tested, and evaluated. The course aims to give practical knowledge and skills in using programmable digital integrated circuits (FPGA) and developing small electronic systems, from specification to working prototype.

Schedule

TimeEdit
Reading week 1 (W45)
Monday 4/11 13:15 Lecture 1: Introduction. EL43
Tuesday 5/11 10:00 Lecture 2:  Programmable logic and VHDL. EL43
Wednesday 6/11 13:15  Laboration 1 ed4220
Thursday 7/11 10:00 Lecture 3: EL42
Thursday 7/11 13:15 Laboration 1/2
Friday 8/11 08:00 Laboration 2

Reading week 2 (W46)
Monday 11/11 Supervision W46:1
Tuesday 12/1 - Friday 15/11 Laboration 3/Supervision 

Reading week 3 (W46)  - 7 (W51)
Supervision Monday 13-15, Wednesday 10-12, and Friday 10-12

Other times by appointment. The supervisor assigns the laboratory site and distributes tools, components, instruments, etc.

Each week, the group must have a brief meeting with the supervisor to discuss the work progress. To get a grade for the course, one is permitted to miss at most two of these meetings.

Course literature

Most of the material is available in the course lab.
However, it is good to have access to a book about VHDL.

Course design

The course begins with lectures and exercises that familiarize students with CAD/EDA tools. Subsequently, the students themselves proceed with the construction work under supervision. The project work is performed in groups of three or four students. Each group selects a task of its own or follows a proposal from a catalog of projects. Components, instruments, and equipment will be available for students and accessible on our premises for six weeks. Construction work is presented in a written report. Students have a meeting each week with a supervisor. The course concludes with a seminar that requires mandatory attendance, where projects are presented.

Changes made since the last occasion

It is an exercise in soldering.
Laboratory PM2 is updated.
KiCad is introduced for schematic drawing and circuit board manufacturing.

Learning objectives and syllabus

Learning objectives:

• describe the principles for a structured and hierarchical description of smaller digital systems [P, R].
• describe how programmable logic circuits work and how they are best utilized [L, R, P].
• handle electronic design automatic (EDA) tools to develop and verify programmable logic circuits [L, R, P].
• search for information in documentation/datasheets of commercial electronic components [R, B, W].
• Implement a prototype digital system that considers aspects of clocking, synchronization, and control (state machine) [R, P].
• determine power supply requirements for digital circuits in environments with multiple voltages [R, P].
• develop a prototype digital system, from specification, via implementation and verification to testing and evaluation [W, B.P]

Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen.

Study plan

If the course is a joint course (Chalmers and Göteborgs Universitet) you should link to both syllabus (Chalmers and Göteborgs Universitet).

Examination

"Examination" only takes place in connection with the examination period for reading period 2, Tuesday 3 to Saturday 14 of January. Exam time is booked in Canvas. The times are available from week 7 (reading week). Each group reports their work in the form of a:

a) Written report
     (submitted in Canvas no later than 2 full weekdays before the "Exam")
b) Brief written report from each group member
     about his participation in the project (max. A4)
c) Practical demonstration
d) Presentation of about 30 minutes.

To be approved for the course, each group member must be able to describe, in detail, the part of the construction in which he/she has participated. Each group member must have participated in some part of the design. A team member may fail the project while the others can be approved.

The grade is based on a basic grade based on the difficulty of the project. The result of the project prototype and the documentation complements this.

Individual grades are then based on participation in project meetings, participation in the project, and the oral presentation.

To be allowed to present a report, there must be a prototype with basic functionality.

In case of failure of one of the parts, re-examination is offered within one week.
After that, an examination opportunity is offered in connection with the re-examination period in August.