94272 - Electronic Systems

Learning outcomes

The course aims at giving students those tools needed to know and understand the fundamental elements by which electronic systems operate in the framework of automotive systems. The goal is not to educate electronic designers, rather to offer a broad and basic competence on the working of electronic systems, that is developing the ability to work as a part of interdisciplinary teams also including electronic designers and experts in information technologies.

Course contents

• Introduction

  • overview of sensing, signal conditioning, information processing, and actuation. Structure of electronic systems interfaced with mechanical components. Essential review of circuit theory.

• The ingredients

  • basic notions of electrical components and electronic devices. Use of transistors as switches and as continuous regulators. Introduction to technologies used in the implementation of sensors and transducers.

• Digital systems

  • fundamentals of logic networks; digital signals; combinational and sequential networks; logic families; number representation; basic functional blocks. ALUs and microcontrollers. Introduction to PLAs and FPGAs.

• Analog systems

  • operational amplifiers, static op-amp circuits, basic filters, and fundamental techniques for signal conditioning.

• Data acquisition and information representation

  • analog-to-digital (A/D) and digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion.

• Time encoding

  • voltage-to-frequency (V/F) and frequency-to-voltage (F/V) conversion; pulse-width and pulse-density modulation techniques.

• Notes on actuation and power conversion

  • further insights into continuous and switched-mode regulation.

Note: slight changes to the content may occur depending on students’ prior knowledge, unforeseen circumstances, and feedback received. In particular, the last two topics may not be covered every year.

Readings/Bibliography

• A. Smaili, F. Mrad, “Applied Mechatronics”, Oxford University Press, 2008
• Neil Storey, “Electronics: A Systems Approach”, Ed. Pearson, 6th Edition, 2017
• Robert Spence, “Introductory Circuits”, Ed. Wiley, 2008
• W. Ribbens, “Understanding automotive electronics: an engineering perspective”, Elsevier, 8th Edition, 2017
• Uwe Kiencke, Lars Nielsen, “Automotive Control Systems: For Engine, Driveline, and Vehicle”, Springer, 2nd Edition, 2010

Teaching methods

The course includes theoretical lectures delivered both at the blackboard and with the support of slides. Some lectures will be dedicated to exercises, examples, and case studies, presented either at the blackboard or through demonstrations that may involve the use of numerical computing tools (e.g., MATLAB), graphical environments for programming and simulating multidomain dynamic systems (e.g., Simulink), or circuit simulators (e.g., SPICE, Digital Logic Designer). The lecture slides will be made available to students, as will any code associated with the examples, demonstrations, and case studies.

Assessment methods

The assessment of learning consists of a written exam followed by an oral exam.

• Written exam

  • includes exercises designed to assess both the understanding of the course content—with particular focus on its practical aspects—and the practical skills in using analysis and design tools. It is usually divided into two sections: one focused on digital systems and the other on analog circuits for signal conditioning.

• Oral exam

  • complements the written exam by exploring the theoretical aspects of the course in greater depth.

Admission to the oral exam is granted only upon passing the written exam. Both exams must be taken during the same exam sitting.

Teaching tools

The course makes use of the following tools:

• Video projector and slides
• Blackboard
• Demonstrations by the instructor using numerical computing environments and system- and circuit-level simulation tools

All materials used are made available to students through the University's Moodle platform.

Office hours

See the website of Sergio Callegari

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