MSP430 based coffee machine control unit with health protection as an introduction to embedded systems development and signal processing

The goal of our Design Automation Laboratory is to impart knowledge to students about ways of developing embedded systems and get them familiar with the latest tools aiding this task. A new laboratory exercise was introduced to let students get their first hands-on experience in embedded programming, system integration, signal processing and communication. A laboratory kit was build based on a MSP430FG4618/F2013 Experimenter's Board extended with signal conditioning circuit, power supply circuit and a RFID card reader. All these were put to use into building a real life application in form of an intelligent coffee machine with health protection feature. The heartbeat measurement is used to check if a coffee will not negatively affect the health of the customer. To eliminate any bottlenecks in access to the hardware a laboratory kit for each pair of students was prepared. Students who successfully complete all the tasks may at the end plug into the machine and allow themselves a first class coffee.