Microcontroller Engineering with MSP432: Fundamentals and Applications
This book aims to develop professional and practical microcontroller applications in the ARM-MDK environment with Texas Instruments MSP432P401R LaunchPad kits. It introduces ARM Cortex-M4 MCU by highlighting the most important elements, including: registers, pipelines, memory, and I/O ports. With the updated MSP432P401R Evaluation Board (EVB), MSP-EXP432P401R, this MCU provides various control functions with multiple peripherals to enable users to develop and build various modern control projects with rich control strategies. Micro-controller programming is approached with basic and straightforward programming codes to reduce learning curves, and furthermore to enable students to build embedded applications in more efficient and interesting ways. For authentic examples, 37 Class programming projects are built into the book that use MSP432P401R MCU. Additionally, approximately 40 Lab programming projects with MSP432P401R MCU are included to be assigned as homework.
Why Read This Book
You will get a hands-on, lab-driven introduction to ARM Cortex-M4 development tuned to the TI MSP432P401R LaunchPad, with low-level exposure to registers, memory, pipelines and I/O plus 37 classroom programs to accelerate learning. The book emphasizes practical firmware techniques and straightforward C code so you can build real embedded control and IoT projects quickly while understanding core MCU internals.
Who Will Benefit
Undergraduate/graduate students and embedded engineers who need a practical, project-focused route to develop firmware and control applications on the TI MSP432 (ARM Cortex-M4) platform.
Level: Intermediate — Prerequisites: Basic C programming, elementary digital electronics and circuit concepts, and a basic understanding of microcontroller concepts (I/O, interrupts, timers).
Key Takeaways
- Implement low-level firmware on the MSP432 by directly using registers and the MCU memory model.
- Configure and use core peripherals: GPIO, timers/PWM, ADC, DMA, UART, SPI and I2C.
- Debug and optimize embedded code using ARM-MDK/Keil or GCC toolchains and on-board debugging with the MSP-EXP432P401R.
- Apply low-power modes and power-management strategies suitable for battery-powered IoT nodes.
- Integrate peripherals into complete control and data-acquisition projects and adapt designs toward simple real-time/RTOS-based systems.
Topics Covered
- 1. Introduction to the MSP432 and the MSP-EXP432P401R LaunchPad
- 2. ARM Cortex-M4 Fundamentals: Registers, Pipeline and Memory
- 3. Development Environment: ARM-MDK (Keil), GCC and Code Composer Studio
- 4. GPIO and External Interrupts
- 5. Timers, PWM and Motor/Actuator Control
- 6. Analog Inputs: ADC, Sampling, and Signal Conditioning
- 7. Serial Communication: UART, SPI and I2C
- 8. Direct Memory Access (DMA) and Efficient Data Movement
- 9. Power Management and Low-Power Design Techniques
- 10. Basic Real-Time Concepts and Simple RTOS Integration
- 11. Debugging, Profiling and Optimizing Embedded Firmware
- 12. 37 Class Programs and Lab Projects (data logging, sensor interfacing, control examples)
- 13. Case Studies: IoT Node Prototyping and System Integration
- Appendices: MSP432 Datasheet Highlights, DriverLib and Reference Materials
Languages, Platforms & Tools
How It Compares
Compared with Jonathan Valvano's MCU texts (which use TM4C/Tiva and a classroom pedagogy), Bai's book is MSP432-specific with more targeted LaunchPad lab exercises; Joseph Yiu's ARM Cortex-M guide is more architecture-centric, while Bai focuses on hands-on MSP432 application development.
