MXEN2003: Microcontroller Project

A very interesting, practical unit. Weekly labs require you to build, test and code subsystems for your robot with a partner. The work is quite enjoyable, and it is nice to see the complete robot drive through the maze at the end of the semester. The workload does ramp up after week 5, with the labs requiring some time outside of the lab to prepare/code, so that a majority of the lab session can be spent testing/demonstrating. Each lab has 5 tasks to be completed, and each mark must be collected in that lab's session. Requires C coding for both the project and Assignment 1. Assignment 1 involves taking some incomplete code and flowcharts and writing complete code to test a sensor. It takes longer than you might expect, so start early to understand the full scope of what you need to complete. The final project also requires a report, but it is not very in-depth, mostly requiring circuit diagrams, flowcharts and a short explanation of a key subsystem.

This unit consisted of weekly practical work, where you incrementally built various systems for the rover/buggy that you were ultimately aiming to design and build. Anyone entering this unit without any knowledge on C programming is going to have a very hard time keeping up, so make sure you come prepared. The overall project I found very engaging and fun. You are required to design, build, and calibrate a semi-autonomous buggy that has to navigate a 'maze,' follow a light beacon, take a frequency reading, and collect a digitate sample with a claw. A lot of this process was wrapped up in the coding and calibrating, and I think that overall the actual time we had to build it was a bit less than ideal. Still a fun unit.