Date: Mon, 02 Dec 1996 15:01:44 GMT Server: NCSA/1.4.2 Content-type: text/html
Course Goals: To gain familiarity with the basic components of modern digital systems and to apply this knowledge in the construction of a complete working design using state-of-the-art computer-aided design techniques and debugging equipment.
Enrollment: No auditing of the class will be permitted and only registered students may attend. I will assume that all students know the prerequisite material (CSE378/CSE467) so there will be little opportunity for "catching up".
Textbook: Jones and Flynn, Mobile Robots: Inspiration to Implementation (A K Peters, 1993) and supplementary notes to be distributed in class.
Assignments: There will be assignments that will include both written and laboratory exercises.
Exams: There will be a one-hour mid-term exam (now scheduled for for April ?) and no final exam. The midterm will be open book and notes.
Grading: The course grade will be roughly determined as follows:
Project: The main emphasis in this course is the design, construction and documentation of a substantial project which will need to be demonstrated by Friday, June 7. The project report and possible projects will be discussed during the first week and students will be asked to find project partners and choose a project during the second week. Collaboration: Part of the objective of this course is to provide some experience in working as a team. However, this does not mean that there is a split in the material to be learned. There is a simple rule to keep in mind when working with your partner: each of you should be able to answer any question about the project. I never want to hear: "my partner did that, I need to ask her what she did." Make sure to pick your partner carefully and make sure that you are compatible in terms of personality, objectives, and study habits.
Hardware Lab: The hardware laboratory is in Sieg 327. There are fifteen workbenches in the lab, ten of which are equipped with Intel Pentium-based PC running Windows NT. Tektronix 1230 logic analyzer are also at most stations. In addition, there is a Data I/O PLD programmer. Multimeters, oscilloscopes, and other tools or equipment will be made available upon request (talk to Stephen Lee.) In the first part of the course, you will be using the lab for lab assignments. Although there are scheduled lab hours during which we will talk about the various tools and equipment, you are generally free to do the lab assignments at your own convenience. Most of the lab assignments are geared toward learning the software and debugging tools. You will be obtaining this familiarity by prototyping several small circuits.
Each pair of students will check out a DesignKit for the quarterthat will contain everything needed to complete the laboratory assignments (kits will be available during the first week of the quarter.) Although you will be working in groups of two, I expect each person to fully understand all aspects of the laboratory assignments and their project. Questions that I may have should be answerable by either member of the team. In the DesignKits will be a card for keeping track of extra items that you may need to check out during the quarter.
There will be absolutely no food or drink brought into the lab and you should refrain from activities that disrupt fellow students. Smoking is strictly prohibited throughout the building and this especially includes the lab. Please help us to keep the lab clean and neat with equipment, manulas, and tools in their proper place. If you are going to be gone from the lab for any length of time, please clear your working space so someone else will be able to work. Since other students have access to the lab, do not assume that you can safely use a workbench indefinitely. If for some reason you need to monopolize a bench or piece of quipment, make sure to leave a note explaining the situation with your name and a phone number where you can be reached.
The lab is there to be used by you and your fellow students. It is provided by the department to further your education and many resouces (time, energy, and dollars) have gone into making it what we feel is a first-class facility. Make sure you treat everything in the lab with respect---from your fellow students to the equipment and parts you will be using. Behave in a civilized manner and restrain your temper no matter how frustrating matter may get. Keep the lab clean and neat. Take care with the equipment and parts. Make good use of the limited bench and shelf space; it will pay off in the long run. Be a good citizen.
Software: This course makes heavy use of CAD software in the form of Synario, a schematic editing, logic synthesis, and simulation package from DATA I/O Corporation, based in Redmond, WA. We use XACT, supplied by Xilinx Corporation, to map circuits to FPGAs. These packages will be installed on all the lab machines. To defray the cost of acquiring this software, we will require a lab use fee of $20 (a separate check payable to the University of Washington.) The software is copy protected and any attempt to tamper with this mechanism or otherwise make illegal copies will be dealt with very severely and through the same channels as physical property theft.
Lab Security: You will be given a personal entry code for the combination lock on the door of 327 (you will obtain your combination with the DesignKit.) The lock will keep track of when you enter the lab. Please make sure to keep the entry code to yourself. Unauthorized access to the lab leads at best to inconvenience and at worst to theft and equipment loss. All these harm you directly. The lab will be available for your use 24 hours a day. Only students registered for #70, 467, or 477 should be allowed into the lab and the windows and doors should be locked at all times. We cannot guarantee that things you leave in the lab unattended will not be stolen. Unfortunately, there is a tradeoff between security and access. If you are all good citizens we should be able to have flexible access and a secure environment. Stephen Lee will be available during normal business hours. He will be the person to whom you will give deposit checks and from whom you will obtain DesignKits, combination lock codes, and anything else you may need over the course of the quarter. Any problems with laboratory equipment and/or software should be immediately reported to him. Do not remove and equipment, documentation or tools from the room. Please see Stephen Lee if you need to check out a manual or anything else overnight. If you ever see anyone in the laboratory that you think does not belong there, inform Stephen, one of the TAs, or myself immediately. If we are not available, call the University Police at 911. And remember do not let anyone into the lab no matter how hard they knock at the door.
Parts and Money: You will need to pay us $20 to defray the cost of the commercial software you will be using and a $100 security deposit for the DesignKits you will be issued and other materials, parts, tools, quipment, and documentation you may check out from the lab. Make checks out to the "University of Washington". These will be due by the first laboratory meeting this week. Each project group will thus have to bring two $100 checks to check out a DesignKit and two $20 checks for the lab fee. The $100 checks will be returned at the end of the quarter when the DesignKits and any other parts, equipment, or documentation borrowed in the interim are return in good shape. You will be held personally repsonsible for any damage to parts and equipment. The $20 checks will be chased. The kits will be available the first week of class.
We stock a variety of common parts in the laboratory which you can use for your projects, but you will undoubtedly have to obtain special parts that we don't have in stock (Warning: It can take several weeks to get delivery, so determine early what you will be needing.) If you have our blessing, you will be re-imbursed for the parts you buy for your project. IF you intend to keep your project, then you will have to buy all the parts including those that may have come with your DesignKit.