Embedded Systems: Shape the World¶

Course Overview¶

• Institution: The University of Texas at Austin
• Course code: EE 319K / Volume 1
• Track: Embedded Systems
• Tier: S
• Role: Mainline
• Level: Not standardized by provider (use prerequisites)
• Last reviewed: 2026-07-28

The University of Texas at Austin's Embedded Systems: Shape the World provides an embedded-systems introduction through an open text, chapter-embedded videos, and activities created for EE 319K; the dead aggregate video index is excluded, the edX run is archived, and learners should prefer the MSPM0 edition while preserving their own lab records.

Why choose this course

Mainline course. A particularly complete and well-structured option for this track. Review note: S/A

Before you start

• Recommended foundation: Digital Logic and Computation Structures
• Recommended foundation: Programming and Engineering Computing
• Recommended foundation: Electronics Laboratory and Measurement

Verifiable learning outcomes

• Explain the core models in Embedded Systems, including their assumptions and limits
• Solve representative derivations and problems, checking units, limiting cases, or numerical results
• Complete a reproducible experiment or implementation with raw data, parameters, versions, and verification

Workload and pacing

13 weeks at 11 hours/week. This maintainer planning estimate is derived from course role and the density of public practice and labs; it is not a provider workload promise. Pilot two weeks while logging instruction, practice, lab, and review time, then adjust the remaining plan when actual effort differs by more than 25%.

Safety level

Low energy. Keep work isolated, current-limited, and low energy; verify ratings, grounding, short-circuit risk, and emergency shutdown before power-up.

Course Resources¶

Software, hardware, and cost

Software

• Maintainer-suggested open-source/free verification path: GCC or LLVM, CMake, GDB, OpenOCD, and Renode or QEMU
• The resource inventory lists public code coverage; pin interpreter, dependencies, toolchain, datasets, and PDK versions where applicable

Hardware

• The resource inventory lists lab coverage; prefer borrowing or sharing the following equipment: a course-supported microcontroller development board, USB debugger, current-limited low-voltage supply, and logic analyzer. Verify ratings, authorization, and safety conditions only after the provider lab manual explicitly calls for them

Cost note

The suggested software stack is available open source or free; this is not a provider requirement or bill of materials. The actual boards, components, fabrication, and instruments—and their costs—depend on the provider lab manual, region, and local availability; prefer simulation, borrowing, or sharing before purchase.

Public resource coverage

Resources and access

“Listed by official page” means the link was discovered on a successfully fetched official source on the verification date; it does not guarantee that every region or account can open the target directly. Access does not grant redistribution rights. Re-check the provider page, target link, and third-party notices before downloading, adapting, or publishing material.

Practice and Verification¶

Practice loop

Embedded Systems: Shape the World · The University of Texas at Austin EE 319K / Volume 1: Deterministic Sampling and Fault-Recovery Node

This is a maintainer-suggested self-study project for Embedded Systems: Shape the World · The University of Texas at Austin EE 319K / Volume 1, not an official course assignment. Implement a low-voltage sensing node or its simulation for Embedded Systems, including timed sampling, buffering, checksummed communication, a watchdog, and power-loss recovery.

Origin: Maintainer-suggested project

Deliverables

• A specification of tasks and interrupts, timing budget, buffering, communication frames, and fault states
• Firmware, host decoder, hardware abstraction or simulator, and automated test sources
• At least one hour of raw timestamp, loss, latency, reset, and power-estimate logs
• A report quantifying timing margin and reviewing a buffer-overflow or communication-corruption failure

Verification

• During a one-hour nominal run, keep 99.9^th-percentile sample-period error below 5% of the period with no silent loss
• Cover timer wrap, full buffers, disconnects, checksum failures, and repeated resets
• Cross-check counts and latency with host reference timestamps and an independent frame parser
• Inject packet loss and simulated power failure and show recovery within five seconds with diagnostic evidence retained

Reproducibility

• Commit firmware, host tools, simulator, tests, wiring diagram, and a README
• Pin compiler, SDK, and board versions, build flags, clock configuration, and test seeds
• Preserve raw serial or network logs, firmware hashes, and the generated report

Safety boundary: Low energy — Limit physical nodes to isolated, current-limited operation at or below 5 V; verify pins and ratings and wire with power removed. No mains, human connection, heaters, motors, or battery packs.

Risks, gaps, and boundaries

The primary is an open textbook and course-material site created for EE 319K rather than a current course run; chapter pages still embed videos and activities, but the dead aggregate video index is excluded. The edX run is archived and the TM4C123 toolchain is old, so the MSPM0 edition is preferred.

Completion evidence

• Weekly learning log with time, questions, corrected errors, decisions, next steps, and links to that week's reproducible artifacts
• Design-review package with requirements and constraints, trade-offs, editable sources, applicable ERC/DRC/timing/stability checks, exports, and a reproduction test
• Code repository with pinned dependencies and toolchain, a minimal run command, tests or waveform/benchmark checks, expected output, and license notes
• Experiment package with schematic/setup, calibration record, raw data, uncertainty, safety checks, failed runs, and steps to rebuild plots from raw data