Using virtual platform in embedded system education

This article presents our cost‐effective curriculum on embedded systems. Education on embedded systems requires coverage of both hardware and software aspects of the systems. Our curriculum uses one monolithic environment, virtual platform, to introduce all the layers of the system components (i.e., from hardware to operating systems to user applications). It is cost‐effective since a hardware system is replaced by a virtual platform. Correspondingly, hardware boards and a lab space are not required. Yet, students are able to make modifications easily on hardware and software components of interest, fully exercising the system. Students responded to the course survey that they are knowledgeable on how embedded systems work after taking the course. Especially, students responded that the virtual platform is effective to use, in place of a hardware platform to learn embedded systems. The course materials are available to the public from a website at Korea University. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 20: 346–355, 2012