Vital Electronics: An application-centric approach to computer engineering and computer science

Over the past sixty years of the “Transistor Era,” and increasingly during the integrated circuit “Moore's Law Era,” digital electronics has permeated into every aspect of the modern western lifestyle. However, to date, most embedded computer devices have either been purpose-built at great expense (e.g. ASICs), or the application code has been shoe-horned into general purpose computers designed for spreadsheets and word processing. Vital Electronics is the study and use of electrical components, circuits, networks, and systems to achieve a design goal of protecting, saving, and improving critical infrastructure and hence the quality of life. The paper focuses on the Vital Electronics curriculum aimed at building affordable trustworthy Embedded Systems.