Philips Semiconductors donates equipment for ECS electronics students
In an initiative that will be of great value to electronics students, Philips Semiconductors Southampton have provided a set of hardware development tools to the School of Electronics and Computer Science. The equipment will be used by undergraduate students in project work. ââ¬ËThis is a very generous donation to our students,ââ¬â¢ said Tim Forcer, who runs the Schoolââ¬â¢s Electronics Teaching Labs. ââ¬ËIt will extend the range of work that can be undertaken in our labs, and offer new opportunities for development projects.ââ¬â¢
Simon Quin, Software Systems Specialist from Philips Semiconductors, visited ECS to hand over the equipment: ââ¬ËAs an engineer I can tell you that there is no substitute for using the real tools. Philips is keen to encourage students and help broaden and deepen their learning opportunities.ââ¬â¢
MEng Computer Engineering student Nick Dance is especially grateful for the donation: ââ¬ËIââ¬â¢m building a Secure HTTP server that runs independently of the host computer over USB,ââ¬â¢ he said. ââ¬ËThe microcontroller it uses to run the web server and SSL layer is an 8051 clone for which Philips have donated eight In-Circuit Emulation (ICE) units with fully-integrated Keil C compilers. The ICE equipment will be used primarily for debugging and hardware testing although it can be used to replace the processor altogether if the hardware is unavailable. I will use the compiler to program all the software for the system.
Dr Denis Nicole, Reader in the Schoolââ¬â¢s Declarative Systems and Software Engineering research group, also intends making use of the equipment in his Real Time Computing and Embedded Systems course. ââ¬ËThe 8051 is a very versatile microprocessor. These high-quality development tools will give our students valuable experience, adding to their portfolio of transferable skills.ââ¬â¢
Pictured are (l-r) Dr Denis Nicole, Tim Forcer, Simon Quin, and Nick Dance (seated) viewing applications of the new equipment in the School's Electronics Labs.