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Beginner path

Start with embedded systems

10 short lessons, taken in order. Each lesson explains one idea, checks it with a few questions and ends with a small project on a real board. You need only a low-cost development board, a breadboard and a few parts.

The lessons and their questions are free. Sign in to answer the questions and count them towards your level.

  1. Lesson 1: What a microcontroller isThe chip that runs your program, and where the program and its variables are stored.3 questionsProject: Blink the on-board LED
  2. Lesson 2: First output: an LED and a resistorOhm's law, how much current a GPIO pin can supply, and why every LED needs a series resistor.3 questionsProject: Traffic light on a breadboard
  3. Lesson 3: Reading a buttonFloating inputs, pull-up resistors, and why a single press can register as several.4 questionsProject: Button counter with debounce
  4. Lesson 4: Bits and registers in CSet, clear, toggle and test single bits. Every peripheral is configured this way.4 questionsProject: Binary counter on LEDs
  5. Lesson 5: Delays, timers and PWMWhy delay loops are unreliable, how a hardware timer counts, and how PWM dims an LED.3 questionsProject: Fading LED and a servo
  6. Lesson 6: Serial output with UARTThe serial port: a tool you will use on every project from now on.3 questionsProject: Serial monitor and a command line
  7. Lesson 7: Analog input: ADC and sensorsConvert a voltage into a number, and a resistance that changes with temperature into a voltage.3 questionsProject: Night light with a knob
  8. Lesson 8: Connecting chips: I2C and SPIThe 2 buses that connect sensors, displays and memory chips to your MCU.4 questionsProject: Read a real sensor over I2C
  9. Lesson 9: Interrupts: responding to eventsLet the hardware call your function when an event occurs, and follow the rules that keep this safe.4 questionsProject: Button interrupt and a reaction timer
  10. Lesson 10: Debugging, datasheets and reliabilityThe debugger, the 2 datasheet tables that matter most, and the capacitor that prevents random resets.4 questionsProject: First complete device: a small weather station

After the 10 lessons

Take the level test to measure your level. Then continue with the learning path, which covers every topic from the basics to interview level.