THE PROBLEMS OF LEARNING AND APPLICATION OF

MICROCONTROLLERS SYSTEMS

Malcheva R., Korotin Y., Arutunjan A. & Krasnik M.

(DonSTU, Donetsk, Ukraine)

The education of the high skilled engineers is a life-long learning process. It includes many stages, one of the most important is studying how to design the MCS – based control system. This paper presents one of the way to understand the specialties of such system – developing of the emulating systems.

Introduction. It has long been recognized that a gap exists between the education of students and the skill set of engineers, illustrated by much anecdotal evidence from employers that graduates come to them and they can’t put them to use. From the point of view of the would-be employee, they suffer because they can’t get a job without experience and they can’t get experience without a job. An excellent solution is often provide by a sandwich degree, where the student is assigned to an industrial mentor for anything from 4 to 12 months as an integral part of their course, but the economic situation in Ukraine doesn’t allow to produce the on-board student projects using real chips and complements. To test the results students have to emulate their projects using modern systems. This paper presents one of the same emulation system which help student to understand course specialized computers. This course, especially based on microcontrollers, can be used to solve sophisticated and complex control systems problems with ease.

What give to us knowledge about MCS. Technology has advanced rapidly over the last few years, well beyond the expectations of most engineers and scientists. The sophisticated equipment we find in the home, workplace and many other environments includes technologies that less than ten years ago might only have been a laboratory novelty.

The major reason for the availability of such equipment has been the development of computers and microprocessors which are used as sophisticated, flexible and yet low cost controllers. However, the operation of such systems would be very poor, if possible at all, if the computer's decision-making programs were not being supplied with suitable, up to date, quality information about the State of the external system. Once this information is gathered by sensors, it is conditioned to be in the desired formal, and then input to the computer system to process and generate an appropriate response. All elements of a control system have to be of the required level of performance to suit the quality of control needed by the application. If one element is below standard then the whole process can be degraded.

Control systems are found in abundance in all sectors of industry, such as quality control of manufactured products, automatic assembly line, machine-tool control, space technology and weapon systems, computer control, transportation systems, power systems, robotics, and many others. Even the control of inventory and social and economical systems may be approached from the theory of automatic control.

Project description. During studing all students prepare the individual course work. As base for construction of such system is the produced microcontroller MCS51, widely used for the last few years at designing of real systems. The students as the technical project receive the set of the real characteristics, which designed system. The students have to independently decide a problem of maintenance of parameters on hardware elements, to develop the functional and basic circuit of a hardware part of a system, as well as to develop and to debug the software of a system. (Figure 1. Fragment of the User’s Interface: Color Setup.)

On the completion developing project it must consist of following parts:

1.Source text editor.

2.Compiler.

3.Debugger.

4.Hardware emulator.

At a time designed only first part of project – text editor for source code. Text editor very easy to use. You can check it during working with system. In editor possible to open about 32 windows, in which represent one file or different files, in which we can edit any file in any windows. Given module is intended for relieving a typing programs for microcontroller. In it provided highlighting text for relieving an visual perception of the program. In the development of the program taken into account options of text setup for a comfort working during using given programme product:

-possibility to edit a color of highlighting different lexical groups;

-possibility to make the new lexical groups by the user discretion;

-possibility of formatting a font, which written a text of program;

-printing a text of program to printing device;

-adjusting a printer in the development environment;

-functions which provide working with clipboard;

-functions which provide working with windows;

-functions for searching and changing a line in the text of program;

Figure 1. Fragment of the User’s Interface: Color Setup.

Conclusion. The economical situation in Ukraine doesn’t allow to produce the on-board student projects using real chips and complements. To test the results students have to simulate their projects using modern systems. By means of MCS modeling in given application students gets skills on writing code for controllers and hardware realization its external interface. The experience indicate that students learn best if they are aware of the practical relevance of a subject, and while more theoretical texts are essential for completeness and reference as the students matures in the subject, we believe in producing graduates equipped also with practical knowledge and skills.

References

1. K-J. Peschges, E. Reindel. How to Structure and Mark Project-Oriented Studies.Global J. Of Engng. Educ., Vol.3, No.3, 1999. – pp.203-207.
2 .A.A.Barkalov & R.V.Malcheva. Application of the problem-based approach at preparation of the engineers. Proc. Global Cong. On Engng. Educ.,Cracow, Poland, (1998).
3. Боборыкин В.П., Липовецкий С.Т. Однокристальные микроЭВМ (справочник). М.: Наука,1991.