NOTICE: ECE 47700 will not be offered in Fall 2025 or Spring 2026
ECE 47700 will not be taught in Fall 2025 or Spring 2026 because the course will be included as a track in the new 2-semester senior design pilot course (ECE 49595SD) that will be taught in the Fall and Spring instead.The embedded systems ECE senior design course (what was ECE 47700) will be one of the tracks offered in the new pilot 2-semester course sequence (a 2-credit course in the Fall followed by a 2-credit course in the Spring OR a 2-credit course in the Spring followed by a 2-credit course in the Fall).
This 2-semester senior design embedded systems track will incorporate all the current ECE 47700 course material, just spread out over two semesters with some reordering and improvements to better reflect industry design practices and to help provide a better student experience.
If you need a single-semester ECE senior design option in order to meet the requirements for graduation for Fall 2025 (or Spring 2026), then you will have you take ECE 49022 which will be the only single-semester ECE senior design option offered next year.
Please speak to your advisor for more details on the changes in the ECE senior design courses.
Course Description:
ECE477 is an embedded systems senior design course for students in the Purdue School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The course centers around providing students with practical, real-world experience with embedded hardware, to help simulate what students will encounter in a professional setting. To do this, students form teams of 4 to propose an embedded systems project and develop said project. Over the course of the semester, students will be exposed to all aspects of the design phase including documentation, requirements definition, parts selection, embedded software design and creation, hardware prototyping, printed circuit board layout, and physical prototype construction.The Projects:
ECE477 senior design projects are embedded hardware projects chosen by the student teams and approved by the course staff. ECE477 embedded hardware projects incorporate a student-designed printed circuit board (PCB) and microcontroller or embedded processor running software developed and integrated by students. Students may work with industry sponsors, on-campus groups, or research groups for their projects, with course staff approval. Information regarding current teams and their projects is available here, and previous semesters of ECE477 are archived here. For additional information about ECE477 projects, please see the course policies and the course documents.The Design Process:
During the course of a semester, ECE477 student teams will be exposed to a 16-week version of the engineering design process. This process is intended to be comprehensive and simulate conditions students should expect to experience in a professional setting. A formal schedule for a semester of ECE477 can be found in the course calendar, over in the course documents section of the site. A brief summary is provided below:- Planning Phase: An initial idea is proposed, and the validity of the idea is investigated. Once students have arrived at a tractable idea, project requirements and design constraints are determined. Next, students develop a block diagram and theory of operation for their project designs. Finally, components are selected that will successfully fit the project requirements and constraints. Prototyping hardware for functional prototyping is ordered at the end of this phase.
- Design Phase: With the project fully specified and components selected, design work begins. The design phase is generally divided into hardware and software design phases, which are outlined below.
- Hardware Design Phase: The mechanical packaging for the design is developed using CAD tools. A footprint library is developed for the team's printed circuit board design. Electrical schematics are created for the team's printed circuit boards, and printed circuit board layouts are developed. Upon finalization of printed circuit board schematics and layouts, printed circuit boards are ordered by course staff.
- Software Design Phase: High-level software design, in the form of program flowcharts, data structures, algorithm descriptions, and state machine diagrams, is performed. Relevant third-party software components and software development tools are acquired. Upon arrival of prototyping hardware, prototyping of microcontrollers and electrical interfaces begins. Software prototyping, debugging, and development extends beyond the printed circuit board deadline, and continues as long as is necessary.
- Build Phase: Printed circuit boards arrive and hardware integration begins, one system at a time. Prototyped software is ported to the printed circuit board hardware, and the project comes together.
- Documentation Phase: Final project documentation is prepared. Reports on the legal liabilities of the device, reliability and safety, and ethical and environmental impact of the device are created. A user manual and final report are created, the project is demonstrated and final presentations are given.