Familiarity with the purpose of switches, resistors and capacitors in the design of low-voltage DC electrical circuits. First homework assignment to design and document a system to extinguish a burning candle. Program simulation of a vehicle traffic light controller. Class analysis of logic gates as simple switched DC circuits. Microprocessor design is studied since it provides insights into process control.
Emphasis is placed on the proper reaction of the system to various inputs.
The student should be able to progress from an informal statement of need through a formal process description to a working system. Number systems - advantages and drawbacks of different representations. Boolean algebra and tools for simplification of functions. Realization of functions using gates to form combinational logic circuits. Sequential, history dependent logic as a means to describe states in a process.