The development of a complete computer design laboratory

Describes a computer design laboratory which was created to provides a very sophisticated and realistic environment. Students use the extensive facilities in this laboratory to undertake the design and integration of a CPU-based system that may be stand-alone or a part of another system. The design effort is as complete as possible, starting with a development proposal, including the hardware design and construction and the development of all necessary software in the C language, and concluding with extensive documentation. Students use a considerable amount of knowledge acquired in previous courses including computer architecture and interfacing, algorithms, languages and operating systems. They become members of groups that design components with complexity approaching levels found in commercial products. Thus, students that successfully complete the courses associated with the laboratory are very well prepared to become computer engineers and enter the increasingly demanding world of computer design. This paper describes the academic environment in which the laboratory operates, the purpose and function of the laboratory, the available equipment and the accomplishments of the student projects during the two academic years from September 1992 to May 1994