Handbook

Real Time Instrumentation aims to equip students with the necessary and additional computing and hardware skills to be able to work with, and design real time computer systems which are connected as instrumentation and control devices to other electrical and mechanical circuits. The course is problem-based so that students will address the issues associated with, and concepts behind, building a simple real time computer system. The course revises the concepts of interrupts and introduces the concept of real-time computing, and discussing why time is important and how it is incorporated into a design , multitasking and multithreading and simple interprocess communication. Students will learn about, and be exposed to various devices providing an interface between a computer and the environment. Fundamental signal processing and control will be covered, including descrete-time processing, signal filtering and conditioning, state machines, PID control, and numerical integration. Although the course will exercise analytical skills, there is a strong emphasis on practical implementation using a Real Time Operating System, and using both the C programming language and embedded Matlab toolboxes to interface to, and control, real hardware.