Teaching complete embedded systems design process with graphical system design methodologies

Embedded systems design is becoming essential for engineering students of all majors, not just electrical engineering or computer science. However, using traditional techniques to teach the embedded design process - including the process to design, prototype and deploy an actual embedded system in a semester with traditional approaches presents substantial challenges to educators, especially teaching non-EE or CS majors. In this paper, we will explore an increasingly popular embedded design methodology that employs graphical design techniques to teach students the complete embedded systems design process in a semester and illustrate how graphical system design influences each of the three stages - design, prototype and deploy with real-world examples.