Use of model-based design to teach embedded systems programming

As embedded systems become increasingly complex, there is a great need to equip engineering students with the knowledge of advanced embedded software development techniques so as to improve their efficiency in software development and programming. This paper presents our experiences of introducing the model-based design (MBD) methodology to two computer engineering related undergraduate courses: Programming Tools and Real-time Embedded Systems. MBD is an emerging design methodology whose effectiveness and efficiency have been demonstrated in the development of embedded software systems in industry. Matlab/Simulink from MathWorks supports the MBD and has become the predominant software modeling language in many safety-critical embedded applications. The novelty of this teaching effort is incorporating two on-going research projects on the MBD with the Matlab/Simulink into education. The synergistic benefits of integrating research with teaching have been explored in two different manners. Our experiences demonstrate that the integration of research results with educational practices is efficient to improve the effectiveness of teaching programming and software development to engineering students, and promote undergraduates to participate in research projects as well.