2026 ECE 4550 Control System Design Lab #1- Introduction to Microcontrollers GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
SCHOOL of ELECTRICAL and COMPUTER ENGINEERING
ECE 4550 — Control System Design — Fall 2026 Lab #1: Introduction to Microcontrollers
Contents 1 Introduction
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2 Hardware Overview 2 2.1 The Microcontroller Component................................................................................................2 2.1.1 Peripheral Modules.........................................................................................................2 2.1.2 Memory Mapped Registers.............................................................................................3 2.2 The Target Hardware..................................................................................................................4 2.2.1 TI Launch Pads.............................................................................................................4 2.2.2 TI Booster Packs............................................................................................................4 2.2.3 Quanser Motion Systems................................................................................................4 3 Software Overview 5 3.1 The C Programming Language.................................................................................................5 3.1.1 Embedded Program Structure........................................................................................5 3.1.2 Recommendations and Common Mistakes...................................................................7 3.2 The Hardware Abstraction Layer.............................................................................................8 3.2.1 HAL Advantages............................................................................................................8 3.2.2 HAL Variable Names....................................................................................................8 3.3 The Integrated Development Environment................................................................................9 3.3.1 Creating a Project...........................................................................................................9 3.3.2 Debugging a Program...................................................................................................10 3.3.3 Linker Command Files.................................................................................................11 4 Initial Considerations 13 4.1 Watchdog Timer Module..........................................................................................................13 4.2 Graphing and Exporting Data................................................................................................13 5 Lab Assignment 14 5.1 Pre-Lab Preparation..................................................................................................................14 5.2 Tasks..........................................................................................................................................14 5.2.1 Data Logging and Data Export...................................................................................14 5.2.2 Incorporating Functions................................................................................................15 A HAL Implementation
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Introduction
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