Processor Modules for the Classroom Development of Physical Computers

Processors are present in almost all the electronic components available in the market now. As they perform trillions of operations per second and are complex internally. This project is to build building modules for students, who will be able to develop their own processor. The main idea is that this will help students to experience the detailed workflow of a processor and focus on design and development instead of spending time on wiring and soldering. Different components such as Program Counter, Instruction Register, Memory, Multiplexer, Adder and transceivers are designed and printed as individual modules on printed circuit boards (PCB’s). Eagle tool is used to design the individual circuit modules and after physically testing the design using electronic hardware, the designs are sent to the PCB manufacturer. After they are received, boards are soldered with the appropriate electronic components and tested again as a block. These building blocks are given to a group of both computer science and non-computer science students for feedback. This will be a productive teaching approach for Computer Architecture and related courses.