A Remotely Accessible Embedded Systems Laboratory

To teach modern embedded systems including operating systems in a meaningful way, a moderately sophisticated processor is required to demonstrate many key concepts, such as multitasking, multithreading, a structured and abstracted hardware management layer, communications utilising various protocols over network interfaces, and memory resident file systems. Unfortunately, high-end 32-bit embedded systems processors capable of supporting these facilities are expensive compared to conventional 8-bit and 16-bit targets, and it is not feasible to acquire a large number of them to house in a laboratory in an effort to enable practical exercises for over 100 students. This chapter describes the development and use of a remotely accessible embedded systems laboratory that uses a small number of 32-bit development systems and makes them available to students over the Internet. After completing this chapter, you will be able to: • Discuss the usefulness of a remotely accessible embedded systems laboratory in teaching and learning contexts. • Define the following key terms: embedded computer system, multitasking, and multithreading. • Suggest further enhancements to practical activities proposed in the chapter.