After studying the content of these projects, you will be able to:

• Explain why there are 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit families of microcontrollers.

• Explain the basic architecture of an 8-bit microcontroller: ALU, working register (accumulator), configuration registers, RAM memory, I/O ports, program memory, Harvard vs. Von Neumann architectures, etc.

• Design combinational circuits using a microcontroller interfacing the digital I/O ports for inputs and outputs.

• Capture schematics containing microcontroller chips in Proteus (hardware planning).

•  Comprehend the idea of a hardware/software diagram.

•  Organise the software planning using the hardware interface functions: init_system(), read_inputs(), write_outpus(), and the data processing function truth_table().

• Start a software project using the IDE tool and the C compiler.

• Translate diagrams and flowcharts to C language for writing C source files.

• Build software projects for a given target microcontroller in order to obtain executable files (.cof, .hex).

• Simulate applications based on microcontrollers using Proteus.

• Watch RAM variables and execute step by step instructions for debugging purposes.