Tim Guite

MSc Embedded Systems University of Southampton

Distinction

Embedded Systems are everywhere. It is a catchall term for any electronics which isn’t an electrical system like a fuse or a transformer, but isn’t quite a computer. Phones, smart meters, fridges - these are all embedded systems. Designing an embedded system which works well for a long time can be very challenging, particularly with an increased focus on connectivity (the Internet of Things). Knowledge is required across many disciplines. Although I had developed some systems up to this point, I decided to take this course in order to obtain the necessary strategies to move into making embedded systems as a profession. At the end of the day, writing some code, hitting Enter and seeing a light turn on is a fantastic feeling. I would recommend it to anyone!

I learned about Real Time Operating Systems (RTOS) and what constraints engineers face when trying to pack as much intelligence as possible onto an embedded device. A module in secure hardware highlighted the risks when dealing with highly sensitive information. Even if you have done everything that you possibly can, a determined adversary may still be able to crack your system or produce fraudulent devices if you are not careful to provide unique markers at the transistor level. This gives an idea of the challenges facing engineers in this area.

Having never thought I would understand the basic principles behind a computer, modules in hardware design taught me how simple logic gates and registers can be combined to not only form specific calculation blocks, but evolve into processors! One of my favourite projects of the whole year involved writing code for a processor in SystemVerilog and then attempting to optimise the hardware to create the solution with the lowest power consumption. This involved carefully considering the requirements of the system to define an instruction set and my own machine language to write a program - carefully typed out in 1s and 0s! These processors were tested on the same FPGA development board which are used throughout industry. Oh, it worked by the way!

Separately, I really enjoyed modules on signal processing which encouraged us to implement widely used algorithms such as the Kalman filter, particle filter and Model Predictive Control.

Taking this course was a big change for me. Admittedly, I only moved across the road to the Electronics and Computer Science department but:

Semester Abroad Purdue University

My semester at Purdue University was my first chance to visit USA and it was such an eye opener into how a different education can be! I was able to study modules in at the school of Electrical Engineering, which would normally be beyond my access on the Mechanical Engineering Course I was studying at Southampton.

I really enjoyed the focus on practical engineering tasks, such as assembling and testing an engine battery for an electric vehicle and modelling long distance power lines in the lab.

The great ambitions of students at Purdue also rubbed off on me - many people are working on ideas they hope to turn into businesses and change the world with, while studying! It really changed my outlook and was one of the reasons I decided to look beyond Mechanical Engineering for a wider education into areas that really interested me.

Purdue is also home to a fantastic rugby team who took me under their wing. Along with an Australian, also called Tim, I spent a lot of time running around near a huge corn field working on both my rugby and leadership skills. And I managed to record a try in the Big 10 Rugby Championship!

BEng Mechanical Engineering University of Southampton

First Class Honours

Mechanical Engineering at Southampton was a fantastic course which gave me an introduction to all areas of engineering. First year modules were in maths, mechanics, statics and structures, electrical circuits, thermodynamics and fluid dynamics. This broad approach to engineering education has given me a solid footing to work productively with engineers specialising in these areas.

A 2nd year group project to design and build a 3d printer based on a stock design promoted cooperation, but also rewarded careful design and analysis. It resulted in a well fleshed out report detailing which areas of the plan went well and where improvements could be made. This sort of final project analysis is vital for improving processes and strategies within a business.

Regular modules were provided in management to provide familiarity with key terms and ideas. I was also introduced to core legal concepts which managers must be aware of.

My final year project implemented a well known fluid/thermo dynamics analysis algorithm on a GPU to investigate the speedup that could be acquired using the latest generation of hardware. This was a fantastic opportunity to understand the details underpinning the latest models which are being used to design efficient machinery such as high speed trains and wind turbines. Find out more at the project page.