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The Boot Camp, which is designed to last two days, serves as an introduction to FPGA education (today, also called modern digital systems).
During Day 1, students received a refresher on binary and digital logic, as well as a background on FGPA boards. They installed a digital logic simulator on a PC and configuration files for an FPGA board. Students created, drew, and operated example circuits, generated RTL files for FPGA board and examined RTL files.
On Day 2, students completed tasks including installing Xilinx Vivado, as well as RTL and constraint file backgrounds. They initialized projects and compiled, placed, and routed, and then downloaded to FPGA boards. They drew and exercised a schematic on their PC, ran it through the tool chain, and saw identical behavior on the FPGA board.
“Those that were truly interested had the great experience of a successful encounter with the FPGA board. You could see their faces light up," said Brakefield. “And it was very helpful for the more advanced students to assist other students with problems.”
At the completion of the class, students were able to take home their boards and received certificates to mark their success.
Brakefield said he is considering using the San Antonio incubators or facilities at the San Antonio Museum of Science and Technology (SAMSAT) to form a team to conduct additional FPGA Boot Camps. Students would be required to provide a Windows or Linux lap-top with 40GB of available disk space.
“The University and STEM educational establishments are evolving to provide better digital education,” Brakefield commented. “Ten years ago, FPGAs were largely a graduate school subject. Now most colleges provide undergraduate courses. And there is now STEM courseware for high schools that introduces engineering, digital systems, and FPGAs.”
Through programs like this one, IEEE CS’ Emerging Technology Fund helps to enhance opportunities for future generations of computer scientists and engineers. For more information or to apply for future grants, visit https://www.computer.org/communities/emerging-technology-fund.