Digital Lab Projects Design

The goal for this project is to integrate Amazon FreeRTOS into the ECE 443 lab and provide working code and documentation demonstrating the updated features. Discussed deliverables were TCP/IP, Ethernet/WiFi, and Bluetooth demos. Additions will be considered based on progression.

=Problem Definition=

Background
The ECE 443 lab uses the FreeRTOS software to teach concepts surrounding real-time computing, distributed processing, and control networks. Currently the lab uses version 8 of FreeRTOS. The most up to date release of FreeRTOS, which is now managed by Amazon, is version 10. Since version 8, new features have been added and it is possible dependencies have changed. Updating to Amazon FreeRTOS will require determining what changes are needed and acquiring the appropriate software and/or hardware.

Minimum
1.Integrate Amazon FreeRTOS into the ECE 443 lab.

2.Provide supporting documentation detailing how to update current projects to incorporate Amazon FreeRTOS.

Preferred
1.Produce working code demonstrating new Amazon FreeRTOS feature.

2.Provide supporting documentation for code..

Hardware
=Design Considerations=

Constraints
The primary concerns for this project are budget and time.

This project may require updating to or investing in new hardware. New products and/or components should be carefully considered before purchase, especially from the standpoint of outfitting an entire lab space. Software changes will be subjected to the same considerations. The project team has minimal experience with embedded design and control networking. A large part of this project will be learning to use the Amazon FreeRTOS software and becoming comfortable with programming a microcontroller. This may impact the rate of progression resulting in fewer sample projects.

=Project Learning= 1.The first phase of this project involved becoming familiar with the different tools recommended for use by Amazon Web Services and assessing their relevance and effectiveness in achieving the specified goals. 2.The second stage required developing a sufficiently strong understanding of the architectures of the FreeRTOS kernel and the development board (the Digilent Cerebot 32MX7cK) to create the specified reference design projects.

=Final Design=

1.Existing Reference Design Projects
Built off of existing reference design projects offered on the Distributed Processing and Control Networks course website.

2.FreeRTOS Website
Tutorials used to draw basic implementations of TCP and UDP communication.

3.Existing HTTP Server Project
Incorporated and modified an existing HTTP project for our HTTP server example.

4.GitHub Projects
Used code from projects on GitHub using the FreeRTOS kernel.

=Validation=

Team Information
=Additional Documentation= Team Contract

Team Contract

Meeting Minutes

Meeting Minutes Folder

Design Review

Design Review