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Embedded Systems Engineering Area of Specialization in the Computer Science Department

Abstract

In our computer science department, there are five areas of specialization: computer science, software engineering, networking, database engineering, and computer engineering. In our curriculum, the students matriculate into the Computing and Networking Sciences (CNS) department after completing the requirements of 30 credit hours of core courses common to all computer science students. The students continue taking core courses until the first semester of their junior year, when they begin taking their electives from different specialization areas.

In this paper, the authors are proposing a new area of specialization in their computer science department called Embedded Systems Engineering. The paper elaborates the detail content of the curriculum requirement for this track.

Embedded Systems Engineering

The area of Embedded Systems Design has been gaining a tremendous growth in recent years. A major aspect of this growth has been the addition of networking technologies and operating systems to embedded systems. Embedded systems have application in many areas such as automotive/transportation, government/military, medical equipment, telecommunications, avionics/aeronautics, aerospace electronics, office automation, data-communication, industrial automation, and consumer electronics1. About 98% of all the 32-bit microprocessors currently in use worldwide are used in embedded systems2. By the year 2010, it is forecasted that 90% of the overall program code developed will be for embedded computing systems3.

The remarkable growth in embedded computing has given rise to a demand for engineers and computer scientists with experience in designing and implementing embedded systems. Embedded system design is currently not yet well represented in academic programs. Most computer engineering programs teach programming and design skills that are appropriate for a general-purpose computer operating under the control of a commercial operating system rather than for more specialized embedded systems 4, 5.

Introduction

It is predicted that majority of the future computing systems will be embedded systems and the importance of embedded systems will continue to grow rapidly. Current undergraduate computer science and computer engineering curriculums at most institutions of higher education do not prepare the graduates with the required knowledge and skills to design embedded systems. The result is that industry has difficulty finding sufficiently trained computer scientists and engineers6. In order to provide graduates with the system-level embedded systems design knowledge, it is crucial that the curriculums for computer science and engineering to be reviewed and enhanced.

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Minaie, A., & Sanati-Mehrizy, R. (2007, June), Embedded Systems Engineering Area Of Specialization In The Computer Science Department Paper presented at 2007 Annual Conference & Exposition, Honolulu, Hawaii. 10.18260/1-2--2533