Lawrence Technological University
College of Arts and Science
Department of Mathematics and Computer Sciences
Embedded Programming with NotQuiteC, Lego Mindstorms Robots and LegOS
MCS 4993 Topics in MA/CS, Section 04. Fall 2006

Handouts | Assignments | Lecture Notes

Credit Hours3
Times2:00-3:15pm Monday, Wednesday
Class RoomM211
Instructor John M. Miller M.D.
OfficeS110
Office HoursAfter class and by appointment
Phone(248) 204-3560
Email jmmiller@ltu.edu
Web Page www.medicalopensource.net/mcs4993-ep/
also see the LTU Blackboard Pages
Objective For students with some programming background, an opportunity to learn embedded systems C programming on a robotics rather than a command line platform.
Textbooks Programming Embedded Systems in C and C++, Michael Barr, O'Reilly ISBN 1-56592-354-5
Definitive Guide to LEGO Mindstorms 2nd ed., Dave Baum, A! Press ISBN 1-59059-063-5
Outline
WeekTopic
1 Introduction, lab and resource overview, RCX and Robolab programming
2 The Standard Firmware
3 NotQuiteC
4 RCX counters and NQC variables and arithmetic
5 NQC programming with sensors
6 Decision making
7 Looping
8 Subprograms and subprocesses
9 Datalogging and debugging
10 Interprocess communication
11 Multiplexing and custom sensors
12 From Not Quite C to C, Not Quite Java and other languages
13 GNU C and the H8
14 Small C, GNU C on the 68HC11
15 Automotive embedded systems and student requested topics
16 Final exam week
Grading
Homework See homeworkWeb page 1/3 of grade
4 Challenges Dates to be determined 1/3 of grade
Final exam or project Date to be determined 1/3 of grade
Grade Scale
A90-100
B80-89
C70-79
D60-69
Fbelow 60 (below 70 for graduate students)
General Policies Assignments and tests are to be individual efforts unless prior approval is obtained from the instructor. The student's personal academic honor code statement is to be provided with their work or kept on file in the case of a graduate student.
LTU laptop This is a course where your laptop will be used each and every class and lab session. However, the course is not dependent on any software from the LTU laptop image.
Make Up Policy Make up tests will only be given to students who miss a test for legitimate reasons and who notify the instructor in advance.
Late Assignments Late assignments will be given half credit for one week and no credit thereafter.
Academic Integrity Course participation will always be conducted according to the high standards of honesty and integrity discussed in the University's Academic Honor Code and Student Code of Conduct.
Options Upon request, the instructor will substitute individualized projects for some of the assignments
Withdrawals The last day to withdraw from this course is November 22, 2006.
Supplemental Material

This is a dynamic document generally finalized after feedback from the midterm course evaluations. It is prepared in HTML, not Microsoft Word. The original resides at medicalopensource.net/mcs4993-ep.

Revised September 6, 2006