Teaching Human Computer Interaction Methods in

Embedded System Design

Ismail Al Kamal, Baslan Asad Alaa Al Bashar
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
American University of Beirut University of Siegen
Beirut, Lebanon Siegen, Germany
(ima16, bga03)@aub.edu.lb aalbashar@hotmail.com

Abstract—This paper presents our work at the faculty of

Electrical and Electronic Engineering in Aleppo where we
developed a new embedded systems design lab which was the
first of its kind in the faculty. The paper illustrates the plan that
was followed to highlight the importance of embedded system
design for the public, namely it will present Nawatt as an open-
source e-learning project for embedded systems. Nawatt provides
an Arabic reference for students and hobbyists to learn about
microcontroller design and its applications. A detailed
description of the locally built development boards and a series of
lab experiments that were developed on these kits to teach the
principles of embedded system design are given. Finally, a
number of advanced projects are depicted as examples of the
students’ experience in developing embedded systems.

Keywords-embedded systems, microcontrollers, education,

human computer interaction.

I. INTRODUCTION
Embedded systems design is an active field of research and
teaching students the intricate details of the design process is a
challenging task. The right combination of theory and practice
must exist for students to benefit from a course in embedded
systems [1]. Microcontrollers are extensively used in these
courses due their fast implementation time and abundance of
features and peripherals. We propose a lab of 12 sessions to
teach students embedded system design through interfacing.
Human Computer Interaction (HCI) is very important for
designs to be simple and user-friendly.
The embedded system lab was proposed as an integral part of
teaching digital design, computer organization and
architecture to an undergraduate class of students. A bachelor
of engineering in electronics at Aleppo University takes 5
years to complete, each year comprises of two semesters.
Digital Circuits and Systems is taught in the first semester of
the fourth year followed by Computers(1) in the second
semester. Finally, in the first semester of the fifth year
Computers(2) and Microprocessor Design are taught.
Computers(1) focuses on computer organization and
Computers(2) on architecture. The two courses in the fourth
year are supplemented with a Digital and Z80 Assembly Lab
(Fig. 1). These two labs aren’t sufficient to introduce students
to embedded systems design. The embedded systems design
lab would be introduced as a lab for Computers(2) and
Figure 1. Digital design, computer organization and architecture curriculum
at Aleppo University.
the Microprocessor design course in the fifth year and would
be a hands-on experience for students to delve into the design
and implementation of microcontroller based circuits and to
learn different methods of interfacing.
II. HARDWARE LAB TOOLS
A. Nawatt Development Board
Nawatt development board is a microcontroller based
educational kit. One of the main factors of the kit is its
extremely low cost of 30$ which makes it an attractive tool for
students and hobbyists. The system is based on an ATMEL
AVR ATmega8 clocked at 10 MHz. ATmega8 is an 8 bit
microcontroller containing 8 KB of in-system programmable
flash memory, 512 bytes of EEPROM and 1KB of SRAM. It
has an extensive set of peripherals that include two 8bit timers
and one 16bit timer, 8 channel Analog-to-Digital converters
(ADC), serial peripheral interface (SPI), universal
synchronous and asynchronous serial receiver and transmitter
(USART), two wire serial interface (I2C), one analog
comparator and a watchdog timer. The microcontroller also
includes 23 I/O pins. The abundance of features present in the
ATmega8 does not deprive the learner from experiencing the
features usually available in more sophisticated and expensive
microcontrollers.
The board contains a 1 line 24 character LCD, a three 7-
segment display, two buttons connected to the interrupt pins, a
16 button keypad, 4 LEDs, and two variable resistors. The kit
also has an expansion connector to add-on new components to
the proposed design. The kit includes a self-programmer for
in-system programming. An RS-232 interface serves two
purposes, one for programming and the other for hardware
emulation. The system is transferred from programming to
emulation mode using the “programming switch”. Twelve
experiments were developed on the board that demonstrate the
basic functionality of the different peripherals and connected
components. The board is depicted in Fig. 2.
B. Accessories
A set of accessories were put together for more advanced
experiments. The extensive set includes a number of graphic
LCDs based on the Samsung KS108 and Toshiba T6963C
controllers as examples of graphic LCDs extensively utilized
in the industry especially for programmable logic units (PLC),
automated machinery and assembly lines. Another is the
graphics LCD based on the Philips PCD8544 controller used
in the Nokia 3310 mobile phones. These LCDs are easily
interfaced to microcontrollers and their programming is easy
and ultimately fun.
USB to serial converters are also one of the most popular
accessories. Adding USB connectivity to one’s application is
appealing. The FTDI 245BM chips are one of the easiest to
use and provide connectivity at 1.5 Mbps which are quite
suitable for low end applications developed with 8 bit
microcontrollers. The chip automatically converts the USB
transfer protocols to RS232 which is easily interfaced to a
microcontroller. The most exciting feature of the chip is the
add-on EEPROM that stores a brand name defined by the user.
When connecting the chip to a PC, operating systems install
the detected hardware and give the device the name stored in
the EEPROM. This name is later visible in the control panel or
set of hardware devices.
A keyboard, mouse or joystick provides an excellent input
device for different types of applications. Keyboards and mice
use a PS/2 connector which is a simple serial connection
easily interfaced to a microcontroller. By writing a few simple
lines of code, the developer can integrate these devices into a
new design.
Multimedia (MMC) and Secure Digital (SD) cards provide
an ideal removable storage solution. Mobile phones, MP3
players and a great number of systems use these cards. SPI
ports are very popular in microcontrollers and both MMC and
SD cards support SPI interface so integrating them in one’s
design is a matter of sending the right commands to the card.
Finally, motor control is an essential embedded system
application. Speed in DC motors can be controlled with a
This work was supported by Nawatt for engineering solutions group.
pulse width modulated (PWM) signal. PWM signals can be
generated by the AVR microcontroller timers and so motor
control is reduced to a matter of timer configuration.
Figure 2. Nawatt Microcontroller Development Kit
III. SOFTWARE LAB TOOLS
A. BASCOM Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
Studying an introductory course on embedded systems
design can be challenging and the different tools involved in
building these systems can be confusing. BASCOM is a
simple and easy-to-use BASIC compiler with an integrated
terminal emulator, simple simulator and a microcontroller
programming application. The extensive libraries available
make it an ideal starting point for any student or hobbyist to
start developing applications. A demo version of the software
can be downloaded from the company’s website [2].
BASCOM includes built-in commands to interface to
character and graphics LCDs, SPI, I2C, 1wire, keyboards and
keypads, timers, interrupts as well as arithmetic and logic
instructions and many other different commands. The software
has the ability to program AVR microcontrollers directly from
the programming environment and simulate and emulate
programs to verify their functionality.
Fig. 3 illustrates a simple counter program from 0 to
65535. A variable is incremented and displayed on both the
LCD and terminal emulator every 100ms. The LCD
configuration is a matter of defining the pin positions and then
writing a simple print command.
B. Labcenter Proteus VSM Simulator
A strong simulation program is an essential tool to provide
learners with a fast method to test their programs especially
when a microcontroller development kit is not available. The
Proteus VSM simulator is a very powerful tool that does not
only simulate analog or digital circuitry but also
microcontrollers and microprocessors. The hex code generated
from the software compiler which is usually downloaded to
the microcontroller’s flash memory can be loaded to the
$regfile "m8def.dat"

$crystal = 1000000

Config Lcdpin = Pin , Db4 = Portb.2 , Db5 = Portb.3 , Db6 =

Portb.4 , Db7 = Portb.5 , E = Portb.1 , Rs = Portb.0

Baud = 2400
Config Lcd = 16 * 1
Dim A As Word

Cls

For A = 0 To 65535

Home
Lcd "No:" ; A
Print A
Waitms 100
1.
Next A
End
Figure 3. BASIC counter program displaying numbers on LCD and terminal
emulator.
simulator and the simulated version of the microcontroller
functions as the real one.
A character LCD can be added to the microcontroller and
different characters can be displayed. A demo version can be
downloaded from the company’s website [3].
C. Nawatt Educational Website
A supplementary website was launched to aid in the
learning process of students and hobbyists. One of the goals of
the website is to make electronics appealing to a large number
of people and by writing about experiences and projects in
Arabic; the site was able to attract a great number of visitors.
The main page hit rate increased by 150 times in a short
period of 3 month and the site became the number 1 Arabic
reference in electronics and microcontrollers. A section of the
site contains a research section. This includes extensive
research projects on basic analog and digital electronics,
communications and control. A section on technology news
and another for a step-by-step course in microcontroller circuit
design. The site turned into a hub for students, hobbyists and
professionals to meet and discuss different topics in
electronics and microcontrollers. The feedback was
encouraging and the website turned out to be a really
important tool in the design of the embedded systems design
lab. Fig. 4 illustrates the Nawatt educational website.
IV. LAB STRUCTURE
The lab is based on the tools described above. It is divided
into 12 experiments. Each one introduces the student to a
different component, peripheral or algorithm.
Figure 4. Nawatt Educational Website.
The first experiment is usually an introduction to the
software, hardware and web based tools needed in the lab.
A first example is given to turn a LED on and off. This is
done by introducing the students to BASCOM where they
write their first program in BASIC. The program is
compiled and then the hex file is transferred to the Proteus
VSM simulator. The students add the components needed
for the design: ATmega8 microcontroller, a quartz crystal,
a resistor and a LED. When the electronic components are
correctly placed and connected, the hex file is
downloaded onto the simulated microcontroller and a test
and verification of the code is performed. The purpose of
using the simulator first is to make sure that the students
perfectly understand how the electronics work which is
usually hidden in a microcontroller starter kit. After that,
the code is downloaded onto the Nawatt development kit
and the students can verify that their program actually
works. The last 10 minutes of the lab session are most
interesting. An open discussion is initiated on the use of
LEDs, a list of advantages and disadvantages is written
and what are the best and worst applications of
implementing LEDs. This discussion encourages students
not only to think of the technicalities of a design but also
about the methods humans interact with these designs and
how different interfaces attract or annoy users. Homework
is given to the students to evaluate their performance; this
is usually given after each lab session and is due in the
following session. One of the questions usually asked of
the students is to investigate and report different
embedded systems that rely on the certain peripheral that
was introduced in the session and comment on the
successfulness of its implementation.
2. The second experiment introduces the student to a more
complex system comprised of four LEDs and a button.
The user is not passive anymore and is expected to
interact with the system. The program is simple and is
expected to turn one of the LEDs on sequentially each
time the button is pressed. The code can be written in two
styles, a loop or as an interrupt service routine (ISR). The
student is asked to experiment with the two methods and
then simulate and emulate the design. A discussion is then
opened to evaluate the effect of adding a user input to the
design.
3. This session is concerned with interfacing the
microcontroller to a number of 7-segment displays. The
students are introduced to binary coded decimal (BCD)
implementation in microcontrollers using look-up tables
to display the right numbers on the 7-segments. They
experiment with displaying a series of digits on three 7-
segment displays by understanding the timing constraints
involved in such a design and the concept of sweeping.
The application given to the students is a counter from 0
to 999.
4. Students try to develop applications using a keypad in this
session. The identity of the pressed button is detected by
scanning the rows of buttons. The students therefore have
to integrate a keypad into their design by correctly
calculating the debounce and scanning effects. A small
calculator application is given to the students. The
microcontroller must store the first number which is
displayed on the 7-segment display and then add, subtract,
multiply or divide it with a second number and the result
is displayed on the 7-segment display. The lab project is
challenging but introduces the students to some very
important concepts in human machine interfacing (HMI).
5. LCDs are one of the most important and fun components
to use in any embedded design. Mobile phones, MP3
players, printers, and a great number of other systems use
LCDs. Character LCDs are controlled via a set of
predefined commands that initialize, clear and shift the
characters on screen as well as for displaying characters.
BASCOM has a library of built-in commands to control
the LCD but as an embedded system designer, knowing
how a component works is essential. Therefore, the first
part of the experiment focuses on sending native
commands to the LCD. After the students become
comfortable using LCDs, an application is presented to
shift a number of displayed words on the screen from one
end to the other and back again. This exercise forces the
students to use the internal character LCD commands.
6. The students in this session are responsible to get the
analog comparator and the ADC working. Two variable
resistors are connected to the analog comparator pins.
Each resistor works as a 5V voltage divider. The program
includes displaying the number of the variable resistor
with the largest voltage (result of the comparison) on the
LCD screen. In the second part of the session, students try
to convert the voltage on one pin to a digital value and
then apply a transformation to change this value into
temperature, humidity or any other physical unit. This
explains the basics of interfacing microcontrollers to
analog sensors and how these readings can be easily
acquired.
7. Lab seven requires the students to work with timers and
counters. This session implements a number of
applications such as a product counter. Each time a button
is pressed the counter value is incremented and displayed
on the terminal emulator screen. When the counter
overflows an interrupt occurs and a message is displayed
on-screen. Another application is implementing a stop-
watch. The microcontroller clock cycle has to be exactly
defined in order to use timers to calculate seconds and
minutes. Such an application teaches students both
hardware and software tips and tricks for exact time
calculation and lets them think at the machine code level.
8. DC motor speed control is an interesting application.
Speed in DC motors can be controlled using a variable
voltage source. Although, speed control is simple in
analog electronics. Digital circuitry presents a challenge
and so PWM comes in handy. PWM signals have a
variable average voltage related to the width of the pulse.
The wider the pulse, the larger the average voltage is and
so the faster the motor. The ATmega8 microcontroller has
a built-in PWM capability which can be important in such
an application. The students are responsible to write the
code necessary to control the speed of a DC motor then
simulate and implement the design in class.
9. Graphic LCDs are much harder to use due to the complex
circuitry and advanced controllers involved in their design
but nevertheless they are the most popular displays in
heavy machinery, assembly lines, photocopying machines
and PLCs. The ability to display graphics on the screen
adds tremendous advantages to a design and makes user
interface an easier and enjoyable experience. BASCOM
has built-in commands to interface microcontrollers to
graphic LCDs. Students learn in this session to display
both text and graphics on these screens. The students are
then given a project to implement and display animations
on the screen.
10. This session involves interfacing a keyboard and mouse to
the design. The compiler has built-in commands for that.
The challenge here is to design a simple word processor.
 The mouse controls a cursor on the graphics LCD. On
click, the user can write any letter he types on the
keyboard and it is then displayed on the screen.
11. USB connectivity is necessary in a lot of applications.
The FTDI USB chips are easy to use and have a
straightforward implementation of the USB transmission
protocols. The chip is interfaced to the microcontroller’s
serial port which transmits and receives data to the PC. In
this session embedded and PC programming is necessary.
A simple Visual Basic application is built to receive data
from the microcontroller and display it on the PC. The
students are responsible for building the transmitting
program on the microcontroller and the receiving
application on the PC.
12. Finally, adding a removable storage unit to an embedded
system may prove advantageous. Building MP3 players
requires that songs be stored on an MMC card. Interfacing
MMC cards to microcontrollers can be a challenging task.
MMC are interfaced to the ATmega8 microcontroller
using the SPI port. Students are faced with this final task
before setting out to develop their own applications. The
microcontroller must store a series of temperature
readings in the MMC and later display them on a graphics
LCD. As can be seen from the sequence of experiments,
every session depends on the one before it to build a fully
functional application in the end.
V. PROJECTS
The previous lab sessions enabled students to begin
building projects on a larger scale. A few of these projects
were an industrial data acquisition system, 1.5-30V power
supply and an automatic telephone switch (ATS) system.
A. Industrial Data Acquisition (DAQ) System
The heart of the DAQ system is the ATMEL Atmega128
microcontroller [4]. It's programmed to get the sensor readings
and store them in the MMC card at predefined intervals. These
intervals are generated using the real-time clock unit built-in
the microcontroller. The system can be configured using the
user interface which consists of a 240x128 graphics LCD and
a set of four input buttons. These buttons provide a simple
way to navigate the menus on the graphical user interface
(LCD). Date/Time, Sampling Rate, A/D Conversion factors
and Data synchronization with the PC can all be configured
using these menus. In addition, the user can watch the sensor
readings on the LCD in real time. The final task done is the
transfer of data from the MMC card to the PC using a USB
module.
The USB interface is implemented using a FT245BM
module which supports USB 1.1 and 2.0. Data throughput
reaches 300 Kbyte/s.
Figure 5. Data Acquistion System.
The driver provided by the manufacturer creates a virtual
serial COM port that can be easily used in programming
languages.
For simplifying the interaction between the user and the
system a Visual Basic for Application (VBA) macro was used
in MS. Excel to automate the synchronization process and
configure the DAQ system. This method allows all Excel
functions and graphs to be used and the known spreadsheet
format allows data transfers to other applications.
The storage unit used is a Multimedia Card (MMC). They
are widely available in the market at very low prices. Large
storage areas up to 8 GB in a small compact package, low
power consumption plus a simple interface, all deliver
superiority over other storage methods used today. The
microcontroller connects to the MMC card using a serial
peripheral interface (SPI) with a maximum speed of 20 MHz
Sensor values plus dates and times of these readings are stored
sequentially in 512 byte packets in the flash memory array.
MMC cards can be separately connected to the PC after the
data has been written on them. This method provides another
way to transfer data to the PC. The capacity of the system
memory can be increased using larger MMCs.
All these features, when put together deliver a good
combination of speed, performance and functionality. The
system was tested using a maximum clock frequency of 16
MHz. The sampling rate was set to one second intervals, the
ADC to a resolution of 10bits, a CDS cell and temperature
sensors were used as inputs to the system (Fig. 5).
B. 1.5-30V DC Power Supply
This power supply is able to provide DC voltages between
(1.5 - 30 Volts) with user defined current limit (0.01 – 5
Amps). The output power will be switched off as soon as the
drawn current exceeds the predefined current limit. The
Voltage regulator used in this power supply is LM350.
ATmega8 microcontroller was also used to measure the output
voltage, the flowing current, and to determine the current
limit. The previous measurments can be performed using the
(10 bit built-in ADC) in the ATmega8 microcontroller.
 A measurment error correction algorithm was applied, in
order to make sure that changes in the temperature due to the
current flow through resistors will not cause any changes in
the accuracy of voltage and current measurements. it is well
known that the higher the current through the resistor, the
larger the power dissipated through the resistor. Thus, its
resistance will change. The change of the resistance will
introduce a multiplicative error in the measurement of the
voltage and the current in the microcontroller. The block
diagram shown in the Fig. 6 provides one method to get rid of
the multiplicative error.
The algorithm can be explained as follows: if the system is
measuring the real value (X) and the multiplicative error is
(α). The microcontroller will then read the value as:
(1)
The processor will feed the measured value (αX) into the
feedback loop to measure it again.
′
(2)
′′ ′ C. Automatic Telephone Switch (ATS) system
In the second iteration the microcontroller will use (Y'') in
the feedback loop, this will result in the following:
′′′ ′′
(3)
The output of the second iteration is then:
′′ ′′′
(4)
For example if (X=1) and the multiplication factor is (α =
0.9). the first measurment will be (Y = 0.9) this value will be
fed back into the system and (Y' = 0.9*0.9 = 0.81) and the
correction after the first iterration is (Y'' = 1.8 – 0.81 = 0.99).
After the second iteration we get (Y''' = 0.891) and the
final value is (Y= 0.999). It is clear that the error was greatly
decreased after two iterations only.
Figure 6. DC Power Supply Block Diagram.
Figure 7. Automatic Telephone Switch.
Finally the Power Supply was provided with a character
LCD to show the output voltage, the current limit, and the
current drawn from the supply. It is very stable and safe to
use, and its price range is extremely competitive when
compared with its commercial equivalents.
This switcher provides eight internal lines, and one
external line. It can also serve both pulse and tone dialing
schemes. ATmega8515 was used as a main control unit. This
system can serve two users simultaneously (they can dial at
the same time). Voice messaging was also implemented in the
system, where the external caller can leave a voice message
for any one of the eight users in the system. A caller
identification circuit was also implemented such that the
switcher can detect the caller ID that the public switching
telphone network (PSTN) sends (Fig. 7).
VI. CONCLUSIONS
Both peer and student feedback was inspiring and
extremely positive. The authors hope that this lab be a positive
step in developing a complete embedded systems curriculum
at local universities.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank Rami Zakaria for
maintaining the Nawatt website and Ahmed Banah, Munzer
Dabaa, Nasro Salem, Muhammed Horani and Dr. Ahmed
Rajeb Boshnaq for their contributions to this work.
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pp. 4 pp.-, 6-10 Nov. 2005.
[2] BASCOM AVR Basic compiler. http://www.mcselec.com .last accessed
14 February 2008.
[3] Proteus VSM Simulator. http://www.labcenter.co.uk . last accessed 14
Febraury 2008.
[4] Salem, Z.; Al Kamal, I.; Al Bashar, A., "A Novel Design of an Industrial
Data Acquisition System," Information and Communication
Technologies, 2006. ICTTA '06. 2nd , vol.2, no., pp. 2589-2594, 2006.