Integrating Visual Programming, Instrumentation, and Embedded DSP Technology into Freshman Introduction to Engineering Design

Arizona State University´s electrical engineering department is redesigning its Freshman introduction to engineering design course with the objective of increasing students´ retention and the students´ interest in engineering careers. National instruments (NI) products, including the LabVIEWtrade embedded DSP module, which supports embedded real-time solutions, the SPEEDY-33 DSP board, and the NI ELVIS system, are used in the redesigned course in order to expose the students to exciting hands-on learning while fostering creativity. Moreover, students will be able to design, implement, test and compare the same applications in both the digital domain, using the NI SPEEDY-33 board and the LabVIEWtrade embedded DSP module, and the analog domain, using NI ELVIS and LabVIEWtrade. The developed applications will introduce students to fundamental concepts in signal & image processing, circuits, communications, biomedical systems, and robotics