Syscomp
Electronic Design
Limited
Est. 1979

Educational Resources

We believe that project-based learning is an effective teaching method that engages students in the material to be taught and provides valuable technical skills.

Click Here to Download Information on Syscomp Courseware

In this section of the web page, we show some examples of projects and support materials that were used to support Project-Based Learning in the Electrical Engineering department of Ryerson University.

Index

• Project-Based-Learning: Outcomes, Descriptors and Design
• Pulse Oximeter Project
• EEBOT: Microprocessor Systems Robot
• Electronic Prototyping Construction Techniques
• LED Exercises
• Mechbot Mark I
• Mechbot Mark II
• Weather Station
• ESP: Extremely Simple Processor

EEBOT: Microprocessor Systems Robot

Engineering students are strongly motivated when they create an engineering project that is a significant, recognizable achievement. The lab for the Ryerson 'Introduction to Microprocessors' course originally consisted of a series of unrelated programming and hardware interfacing assignments. We revised the lab so that the students provided software components for a maze-solving mobile robot. Students were provided with the eebot hardware and required to demonstrate programs of increasing complexity up to the maze
solution lab project. The eebot is a small mobile robot intended for learning exercises in robotics, artificial intelligence and microprocessor programming. It is based on the MPP Microcomputer Kit.

Student competence in assembly language program improved noticeably after the introduction of this project.

Electronic Prototyping Construction Techniques

It is a common situation that an electronic circuit is needed for a student project, to demonstrate a concept, to validate a simulation or for a specific application. Many engineering students have not been exposed to a construction technique for electronic circuits. This paper shows some techniques for prototype construction, with an emphasis on methods that do not require a commercial printed circuit board.

Download PDF (13MB)

LED Exercises

This project was developed for the Discover Engineering Summer Camp to introduce high-school students to electronics. It would be suitable for Girl Guides/Boy Scouts or a high-school electronics project. Students do various exercises with light-emitting diodes and then build an LED-sculpture. (For unknown reasons, the title page is page 4 of this document.)

Download PDF (500k)

Mechbot Mark I

Mechbot Mk I was conceived as a lab project for mechanical engineering students, to teach basic concepts of circuitry, analog devices (op-amps and transistor switches) and small DC motors. Students steered
their robot through a maze, using a remote-control television link.

Download PDF (520k)

Mechbot Mark II

The second version of Mechbot is an autonomously operating robot designed to participate in robot sumo-wrestling contents, featherweight class. Analog circuitry detects the ring edge and drives the robot to remain inside the ring. Addition analog circuits guide the robot to detect and engage it's opponent and modulate motor power to push the opponent out of the ring.

The notes describe how to construct and debug the robot in stages until the robot is fully functional.

Mechbot was very successful in engaging the interest of mechanical engineering students and in particular showing how to construct and debug analog circuitry.

Download PDF (350k)

Weather Station

The weather station project was the basis for a senior level EE lab in instrumentation. Students used a microprocessor kit (the Syscomp MPP Board) as the control unit for various analog sensing devices - temperature, humidity, air pressure and wind speed. The paper contains technical details on the design of a suitable control program and technical background on each of the sensors.

Students consistently rated this lab project as extremely valuable preparation for their fourth-year thesis project.

Download PDF (1.4M)

ESP: Extremely Simple Processor

The ESP is an extremely simple but complete microcoded computing unit. Inspired by the Waterloo University WEE computer, it includes an arithmetic-logic unit, 2 microcode EPROMS and a third EPROM for the assembly language program.

Microcode and computer architecture are inherently challenging topics. The ESP was used in an introductory course to digital devices as a hands-on device to explain the fundamental structure of a computing device.

Download PDF (210k)