This course is a hands-on introduction to microcontrollers using the Arduino platform. Fundamentals of computer programming will be covered, as students will learn to program the Arduino microcontroller platform. Students will be able to create a variety of projects by using analog and digital I/O, and interfacing electronics and computers. Course experiments are designed to explore microcontroller basics, covering LEDs, transistors, motors, integrated circuits, pushbuttons, variable resistors, photo resistors, temperature sensors and relays.

In addition, the course explains the concept of real-time system and why such systems are usually implemented as concurrent processes. The course describes the process for real-time systems, and overviews the role of a real-time OS. It introduces the generic process architectures for monitoring and control and data acquisition systems.