ENG20009 - Labs Practical Tasks Descriptions

Assessment Tasks

Portfolio Practical Lab 4 

Pass: Create a menu in the Serial monitor. It needs to have 4 items in the main menu, and each of these needs to have 3 sub-menus; each sub-menu needs to do something different when selected.

Pass Plus: Continuing from the Pass question above, add more selections:

• The first option should toggle the top LED (DI 1) on and off.
• A second option to increase the speed of the second top LED's (DIO) blinking.
• A third option to decrease the speed of the second top LED's (DIO) blinking.
• A fourth option to use and control a PWM to increase/decrease the brightness of the third top LED (D9)/ or buzzer (D6) between O and 254.

All menu options should be able to return to the main menu to be executed again or changed to a different option.

Credit: Using the RTC and LCD, create a digital and analog clock by reading the data from the RTC and displaying it on the LCD. The push button selects between the analog and digital display.

Distinction: Using the accelerometer of the IMU, display an arrow in 5 directions (default/steady, left, right, forward and backward) on the LCD/LED Matrix.

Note: if using LED matrix pin 20 and pin 21 (12C pins) need to be replaced by other GPIO pins by using two jumper wires to be connected to the relevant header. These 12C pins is used for the IMU.

Portfolio Practical Lab 5

High Distinction: Using the Distinction code above (IMU with 5 directions), program the microcontroller to read input from the IMU and display the input on the LED Matrix. Use the last five digits of the student ID as the passcode. If the passcode is entered correctly, it shows a different symbol for correct authentication; otherwise, it shows an incorrect symbol in the LED matrix.

Pass: Store the following list in PROGEM, then print them from PROGEM onto the LCD screen. Each item from the list should scroll from right to left one at a time.

Pass Plus: Continue from the Pass question above add the following list:
ENG20009 Engineering Technology Inquiry Project.

Credit: Using 1-wire protocol, connect to the EEPROM component. Write to the component your student ID and display it back on the LCD from the EEPROM.

Distinction: Using RTC create digital clock and display in LCD. Create menu in the LCD which can be navigated with the pushbuttons. The menu needs to contain the following items:

• Pushbutton to change the format of displaying clock between 12-hour and 24-hour format
• Pushbutton to activate, choose time, and set an alarm.

Portfolio Practical Lab 6

High Distinction: Using the SD card, LCD, RTC and IMIJ create a data logger that records the accelerometer values only of the IMU to the SD card with a time stamp from the RTC.

The LCD should display the current data being read from the IMIJ as 3 different coloured lines (x, y, z data), current data should be displayed in the middle of the screen with the previous points being pushed off the edge of the screen in a constantly printed line.

Pass: Using the interrupt hardware for pushbutton, display a non-alphanumeric symbol on the LCD/LED Matrix.

Pass Plus: Using timer interrupt(not delay, micros, millis) make an LED turn on for 1 second and then off for 3.5 seconds.

Credit: Create timer interrupt that can read data from the three sensors of IMU at 0.5 1-IZ rate, to be displayed on the LCD. Use graphical representation rather than just a number. Use buttons as the menu selection of the three sensors.

Distinction: Program the microcontroller with the hardware interrupt to read input from one pushbutton ONLY and display the input on the LCD. Use the student ID as the passcode. If the passcode is entered correctly, it shows a different symbol for correct authentication, which can differentiate each member; otherwise, it shows an incorrect symbol in the display

High Distinction: Using the 8x8 matrix and a push button (hardware/software interrupt), create a text scroller. The text should initially move left to right and be set using serial monitor.

• If the pushbutton is pressed for a short press, the direction should change from left to right, to right to left & vice versa.
• If the pushbutton is pressed for a long press the speed should change from slow to medium, medium to fast, or fast back to slow.

Summary of Assessment Requirements

The assessment is divided into Portfolio Practical Labs 4, 5, and 6, where students must progressively demonstrate their ability to program and integrate microcontrollers with various hardware components (LEDs, LCD, RTC, IMU, EEPROM, SD card). Each lab task builds on the previous one and is graded by levels: Pass, Pass Plus, Credit, Distinction, and High Distinction.

Key Pointers to be Covered:

• Portfolio Practical Lab 4:

  • Menu creation in Serial Monitor with sub-options performing unique functions.
  • LED control (on/off, blinking speed, PWM brightness control).
  • RTC and LCD clock (digital/analog).

  • IMU accelerometer-based directional arrow display.

• Portfolio Practical Lab 5:

  • Storing and displaying lists from PROGMEM on LCD with scrolling.
  • EEPROM integration to store and retrieve student ID.
  • RTC-based clock with navigable LCD menu and alarm setting.

  • IMU-based input verification and passcode authentication with LED Matrix.

• Portfolio Practical Lab 6:

  • Pushbutton interrupts to display symbols.
  • Timer interrupts for LED on/off cycle.
  • IMU data logging with graphical representation.
  • Authentication via passcode using interrupts.
  • 8x8 LED Matrix text scroller with speed/direction control.

Step-by-Step Approach by the Academic Mentor

Step 1: Understanding the Requirements

The mentor first guided the student to carefully break down each lab into graded levels of complexity (Pass → High Distinction). This ensured clarity on what was required for minimum achievement versus advanced demonstration.

Step 2: Building the Foundation

The student was first taught how to:

• Create a hierarchical menu in Serial Monitor.
• Implement simple LED operations such as toggling and blinking.
• Use PWM to adjust LED brightness.
  The mentor emphasized modular coding (functions for each submenu) to make the program reusable and scalable.

Step 3: Intermediate Hardware Integration

Once basics were achieved, the mentor introduced external components:

• RTC for digital/analog clock displays.
• LCD for user-friendly output.
• EEPROM for permanent storage of student ID.
  Guidance included using correct libraries, wiring practices, and debugging tips.

Step 4: Higher-Level Programming

The mentor then explained IMU integration to display direction-based outputs and later use it for passcode authentication.

• Hardware/software interrupts were introduced to reduce reliance on delays.
• Timer interrupts were explained for periodic tasks like LED blinking and IMU data sampling.
  Students practiced managing real-time data efficiently.

Step 5: Advanced Applications 

Finally, the mentor guided the student in creating:

• A data logger with SD card, RTC, and IMU for timestamped sensor data storage.
• A graphical LCD display of IMU readings (x, y, z lines).
• An interactive text scroller with pushbutton-controlled speed and direction.

Each stage included feedback sessions where the mentor helped debug errors, optimize code, and link theory with practical implementation.

Outcome and Learning Objectives Covered

By the end of these labs, the student successfully:

• Demonstrated microcontroller programming skills with increasing complexity.
• Learned to use interrupts, timers, and external hardware integration.
• Applied data storage and retrieval techniques (EEPROM, SD card).
• Built interactive systems using menus, pushbuttons, and LCD/LED displays.
• Understood real-world applications such as authentication, data logging, and device control.

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