Hardware design of computer arithmetic blocks for engineering laboratory practices

Abstract

[EN] This work presents a set of laboratory experiments that can be carried out by students who are taking digital design courses in engineering programs like Electronics, Communications Systems and Mechatronics. The purpose of these labs is to help students develop their skills and confidence designing arithmetic hardware blocks through solving of specific problems. In this aspect, this paper shows a method to be followed in the laboratory to design arithmetic blocks and implement them in microcontrollers and FPGAs. More specifically, the block design of a number's multiplicative inverse (1/root x), its square root (root x) and the square root of its inverse (1/root x) are presented. To complete these exercises, knowledges on Newton-Raphson algorithm, difference equations and digital design are required. Students of our institution completed the lab practices, and after analyzing the results from student surveys and classroom observations, we found out that completing these tasks significantly contributed to the students' training in the hardware design field.