I am happy to announce the launch of UT.6.01x on edX (https://www.edx.org/course/utaustinx/utaustinx-ut-6-01x-embedded-systems-1172). UT.6.01x is an online course (aka MOOC) that serves as an introduction to embedded systems. The teaches students core concepts of embedded engineering on the Tiva Launchpad, an ARM Cortex M4 micro controller board. The basics of C programming, ARM Thumb2 assembly, blinking
A good friend of mine, Cruz Monrreal, has just released the design files for his new all purpose robotics boosterpack. If you are into robotics, or really any sort of control of the physical world with the digital I would recommend giving it a look. It has a ton of connections for everything from Bluetooth,
So, you want to create a BoosterPack for the Launchpad. Sweet, lets get you jump started. First make sure to grab the BlackstoneEngineering eagle library (it has the headers done so you can just drop them into your project). Next let me point you to some handy resources buried within the TI Wiki. BoosterPack Design
As part of the ongoing struggle to make PCB design easier I have created a github repository for Eagle projects related to class. Bundled in the library are headers for the Launchpads, outlines, and other handy shortcuts that make creating BoosterPacks easier. Go! https://github.com/BlackstoneEngineering/eagle Things included: -Launchpad Headers spaced and labeled correctly (EM and
TI has a great searchable PCB parts library for every device they make. If you’re using a TI part odds are you can use it to make your life alot easier. There is one catch however, they use an intermediate format called “.bxl” . They provide a tool called UltraLibrarian to convert between .bxl and
Up until recently if you wanted to develop for the Stellaris Launchpad on Linux it would require some serious chops to generate your own make files and get everything working with the command line debugger GDB. Now however Mr. Jimmy Brisson has generated general use make files and instructions for getting running in linux. The
Before class please Download / Install Eagle CAD (select the free license) Download Third Party Libraries Download AustinBlackstoneEngineering Library (the .lbr file) Optional: Find a part and its datasheet you want to create a PCB for (chip, resistor, anything will do) That’s it, see you in class!
By now you know StellarisWare is gone, and TivaWare has replaced it. For the most part it is a name change, but there are a few things you should know before you upgrade. TivaWare is a rebranding, but it is also an upgrade. Aside from the obvious name changes of the chips (so previous lm4fxxx.h/.c
There’s a new kid on the block, the Tiva LaunchPad TM4C123GXL. It essentially a superset of the Stellaris LaunchPad LM4F120XL. It has all the same functionality, plus PWM, QEI, and USB Host/OTG. All of your old StellarisWare code can run on this board, though there is a new TivaWare library for this board. In effect
What was once Stellaris is now Tiva C-Series (the C stands for “Connected”). In effect Stellaris->Tiva C-Series, StellarisWare->TivaWare.The old LM4Fxxx part numbers become TM4Cyyy, same chip, new name. The effect on your software is you will need to update the old Stellarisware C89 types to the new TivaWare C99 Types. There is a whole new
