Microprocessor Design Using Programmable Hardware

The recent era of innovation and computerization made it possible to avoid human interaction from repetitive and perilous task. Some of the advanced countries already adopted automated their industries partially or fully for higher performance and also considering the risk or life with higher or low

Project Title

Microprocessor Design Using Programmable Hardware

Project Area of Specialization

Robotics

Project Summary

The recent era of innovation and computerization made it possible to avoid human interaction from repetitive and perilous task. Some of the advanced countries already adopted automated their industries partially or fully for higher performance and also considering the risk or life with higher or lower temperature. For example a fire fighter task can be completely automated for fire environment where human life can be risk.  Also painting color or Designing hardware for robots completely requires management of many on-chip resources for the microprocessor. The microprocessor can be either used for specific application or general purpose depending upon the function needed to perform. For example painting the steel metal, doing automated operation by following the instruction. Also the rapid pace of change in the field as well as in associated area such as machine learning and artificial intelligence. But it seems robots will play key role in the business and routine life. Also advancement in MEMS sensor and semiconductor with programmable hardware availability it is possible implement many of feature much easily as compared to before.  It also known that by 2020, many of the robotics based jobs will rely on cloud based environment programming to characterize new abilities, subjective capacities and applications programs, prompting the arrangement of a mechanical development. Microcontrollers offers many on-chip features as compared to the microprocessor, but difficult to implement due to the computability issue and complex interface.  While microprocessor implementation can easily implement peripheral on the FPGA, this helps to automate and interface many of features of the robots. This will implement microprocessor on the FPGA for interfacing to the external world.

Project Objectives

1. A soft core of the microprocessor for general application as well as special functions designed for robotics applications.
2. The programmable feature of the microprocessor core designed specific to the control application. The main objective of this project is to build up an special purpose robot with programmable hardware.
3. To understand and develop the hardware programming language skills like Verilog and VHDL to apply control features on the FPGA as well as CPLD.
4. To efficiently implement the subsystem of the microprocessor on the FPGA chip to perform access on chip resources to facilitate the robot to perform efficiently.
5. Develop skill to design microprocessor based robotics for military as well as consumer electronics for toy as well as fire fighter for the places where human cannot tolerate the environment.
6. To promote Digital logic design applications in real world electronics in the industry of Pakistan.

Project Implementation Method

Write the design block for 8-bit microprocessor and verify its simulation using stimulus block. The microprocessor implements few instruction with powerful arithmetic logic unit (ALU). Also need to simulate the Read Only Mememory (ROM) and also Random Access Memory (RAM), counter or timer and also implement the clock. It also implements on-chip feature of programmable timers and output compare.

Once the simulation verify the features of the microprocessor, the next phase is to select and implement the microprocessor core on the Field Programmable Logic Array (FPGA). There are several issues on the FPGA implementation needs to be fixed for the control applications. Once the operation confirm the implementation of the microprocessor, operation of the simple instruction like add two numbers, rotate an 8-bit number. Also status register needs to be cleared once the operation is complete.

The next phase is to implement the straight line trajectories for robots. A assembly language program for the microprocessor needs to be written to follow up the required objective. 

Benefits of the Project

1. Contribute in the digital design in Integrated Circuit (IC) design industry.
2. A successful development of prototype results in idea success that may lead to Startup Company to promote IC design in Pakistan.
3. This will also reduce imports of the expensive controller for the different robotics operation for special purpose application in the country.
4. The country industry will be boosted and the hardware will be available much cheaper to save the import for the industry.
5. A highly skilled worker will be developed to boost the local human resource.
6. This will improve the hardware programming and FPGA understanding skill as well as AI and machine learning.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

A complete FPGA board implemented a microprocessor and interfaced with sesnsor to detect and track a specific path. Two different test will be performed, first the tracking the straight line trajectory to detect the line and fallow the line to move forward.  The follow up line can be black line (colored). Also tracking robot will be detect and track curved path even if the path is altered by changing the shape of the line.

More feature will added to the robot like avoiding touching any obstacle and turn right or left.  This type of robot can be further modified to meet the firefighting robots as small toy jeep which can carry certain amount of chemical to the fire place and throw it there but control of joy stick feature by the firefighter.

Final Deliverable of the Project

HW/SW integrated system

Type of Industry

Telecommunication

Technologies

Robotics

Sustainable Development Goals

Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Required Resources

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