Microprocessors in control education

Microprocessors have played an important role in realization and applications of automatic control in a variety of real life systems. This paper presents issues and concerns regarding the requirements in teaching microprocessors for control implementation as these devices experience rapid upgrades with improvements in micro-electronic technology. While fundamentals are very important to teach, at the same time students should be up to date with technology. As an approach to resolve this problem a two-course sequence in teaching microprocessors is proposed. The first course would cover the basics of microprocessor architectures, programming, and interfacing, while the second course would cover advanced microprocessors, low level device drivers, complete system integration and issues relating to implementation of the microprocessor-based control systems.