TI Kit Help Center💡

Objective: In this activity, you will practice controlling the built-in LEDs on the MSP430FR5994 by programming them to turn on, blink at different speeds, alternate, and follow simple patterns. You will also measure the timing of the blinks with a stopwatch to see how human error affects consistency, then analyze your results using basic statistics. By the end, you’ll gain hands-on experience with both programming a microcontroller and evaluating real data to support design decisions.

Tasks:

1. Turn on one of the LaunchPad LEDs (green or red).
2. Change the blinking speed of that LED.
3. Turn on the second built-in LED.
4. Create an alternating blinking interval to 2 seconds using delay(2000).
5. Measure the ON and OFF times manually with a stopwatch for at least 10 cycles (this will incorporate human error).
6. Record your data in Excel, calculate descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, minimum, maximum), and create a graph of the results.

Source File:

• Lecture Slides
• Instruction
• Worksheet
• Excel Template

Objective: This activity is to introduce you to using the TI MSP430 LaunchPad, Grove board, buzzer, to design a simple alert system. You will practice writing and modifying selection structures (if/else logic) to control how the buzzer responds to different conditions. This will help you understand how decision-making in code can be used to build real-world warning systems.

Tasks:

1. Draw a block diagram for a microcontroller set up
2. Draw a flowchart that represents the selection structure for a given scenario.
3. Modify the selection structure in the given code such that the buzzer beeps as desired.

Source File:

• Lecture Slides
• Instruction
• Worksheet
• Taum Sauk Part 1 Sketchbook Please refer to Getting Started - Step 5 for adding the sketchbook to your Energia.

Objective: The purpose of this activity is to guide you in designing a simple early warning system, inspired by the real-world failure of the Taum Sauk Reservoir, where human error and lack of safeguards led to disaster. Using an ultrasonic ranger, you will measure the distance to an object and apply a selection structure in your code to decide whether to trigger a buzzer alert when the object gets too close. This hands-on project shows how sensors and logic can work together to prevent accidents by warning operators before a threshold is crossed. To evaluate how reliable your system is, you will also test its fidelity by calculating the percent error and sum of squared errors (SSE) between your measured distances and the theoretical threshold. Through this, you’ll not only practice programming and hardware integration but also see how engineers assess accuracy and safety in real systems.

Tasks:

1. Draw a block diagram for a microcontroller set up.
2. Write a pseudocode for the warning system logics.
3. Modify the code such that it alerts with sound when an object gets too close.
4. Record distances measured when hearing the alert, compare these values to the theoretical threshold you defined, and analyze the errors.
5. Comment on your error analyses.

Source File:

• Lecture Slides
• Instruction
• Worksheet
• Excel Template
• Taum Sauk Part 2 Sketchbook Please refer to Getting Started - Step 5 for adding the sketchbook to your Energia.

Objective: Design and test a simple alarm system using the MSP430-Grove board to simulate how early detection of high water levels could have prevented the Taum Sauk Reservoir failure. Students will use an ultrasonic sensor to measure distance, a buzzer to trigger an alert when the water level is too high, and Excel Data Streamer to visualize data in real time.

Tasks:

1. Data Streamer Screenshots
   • Capture a screenshot showing the three columns: Time, CH1, and CH2.
   • Include at least one screenshot where: CH1 displays "ALERT: Water level critical!" and CH2 shows 1(indicating a critical water level).
2. Excel Chart
   • Create a chart using the data obtained from Data Streamer.
   • Set X-axis to be Time (s) and Y-axis to be Distance (cm).
   • Add a descriptive title.

Source File:

• Lecture Slides
• Worksheet

Objective: The purpose of this activity is to guide you in building a smart lighting system that responds intelligently to environmental changes. Using a light sensor, you will detect ambient brightness, and with an ultrasonic ranger, you will detect nearby objects. By applying logical operators (AND / OR) within your code, you will combine these sensor inputs to control when an LED turns on — for example, turning on the LED only when it is dark and someone is nearby. This project demonstrates how multiple sensors can work together through simple logic to enable more responsive and energy-efficient systems, similar to those found in real-world smart homes and safety applications. Along the way, you will also explore different logic structures, observe their effects, and reflect on how system behavior changes with different conditions.

Tasks:

1. Write a clear pseudocode or flowchart that describes the logic controlling the LED using AND and OR operators.
2. Combine and modify code from the light and ultrasonic examples to implement the smart lighting behavior.
3. Test the system under different light and distance conditions and observe how different logic operators affect the LED response.
4. Experiment with and reflect on alternative logic structures to see how system behavior changes and discuss potential real-world applications.

Source File:

• Lecture Slides
• Instruction
• Worksheet
• Smart Light Sketchbook Please refer to Getting Started - Step 5 for adding the sketchbook to your Energia.