STMicroelectronics Launches IoT-Enabled “Introduction to Embedded Systems with SensorTile” Curriculum

STMicroelectronics, the semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, announced the availability to all, including students, makers, and budding engineers and computer scientists of the “Introduction to Embedded Systems with SensorTile” course.

With a curriculum developed by Professor William Kaiser at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and used to teach his freshman engineering class, the online course resources provide a foundation to understand the fundamentals of a sensor-based Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled embedded system. Professors at other universities are also encouraged to adapt and contribute to the course.

The introductory course of 8 self-paced tutorials is designed around ST’s SensorTile, a unique real-time IoT-enabled embedded system on a postage-stamp-sized module. The tiny 13.5mm x 13.5mm module combines a high-performance, low-power STM32 Arm-Cortex-M-core microcontroller, 5 valuable MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) sensors—an inertial sensor containing an accelerometer and gyroscope, an eCompass, a pressure sensor, and a microphone—and a Bluetooth network processor. A kit with the module, cables, cradles, and a battery is available from major resellers for about $80.

“The joint effort with ST to make the 8 tutorials freely available online, with a full complement of documentation, open-source algorithms and development solutions, and unfettered access to a growing user forum is a terrific way to ensure the sustainability of a community that we hope will expand to include community colleges, other universities, and even high-school programs and self-starters,” said Professor William Kaiser, current director of Actuated Sensing & Coordinated Embedded Networked Technologies research group at UCLA’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, and winner of UCLA’s 2007 Gold Shield Prize. “In fact, while we’ve made the tutorials simple, yet powerful, we know newcomers will find an obstacle somewhere and we’re counting on the passion of users in the community to help them overcome those inevitable roadblocks.”

“Professor Kaiser’s enthusiasm and commitment to the development of the ‘Introduction to Embedded Systems with SensorTile’ curriculum has been critical to the success of the program, which has now been adopted as a requirement for all computer engineering students at UCLA,” said John Rossi, Americas Region Vice President of Strategic Marketing, STMicroelectronics. “For ST, this effort has been driven by our interest in creating the same level of excitement for engineering and problem solving that we have, and to emphasize our message that everywhere microelectronics are making a contribution to peoples’ lives, ST is there.”