Ready to put your digital logic knowledge to the test? We’re excited to share a project that brings fundamental concepts like state machines and counters to life using the popular Basys 3 FPGA development board.
This isn’t just about theoretical learning – it’s about hands-on interaction. Imagine this: you press a button to start a timer displayed on the Basys 3’s 7-segment display. Then, with precise timing, you try to stop it at the exact moment a visual cue – the Basys 3’s LEDs filling up – indicates the target.
This project is a good example of the kind of practical exercises students in digital logic courses can undertake. By working through this “Stopwatch Challenge,” learners can gain a deeper understanding of:
State Machines: See how different states control the flow of the game.
Counters: Observe how digital counters track time.
Hardware Description Languages (HDLs): Understand how Verilog is used to implement these core hardware building blocks.
Let’s break it down into steps:
- Design a counter and use it to blink an LED ten times a second.
- Design a basic state machine to enable and disable the blinking LED based on button presses.
- For bonus points, debounce your buttons.
- Modify your counter to count up or down, selected based on an input. Decode this counter and use it to drive the Basys’ LEDs.
- Design a binary-coded decimal counter.
- Design a seven-segment display controller and use it to display decimal numbers.
- Modify your state machine to pull together these disparate parts into a game – enable the decimal counter when the game is started, pick success and fail states based on the state of the up/down counter when buttons are pressed, and clear counters (or not!) based on success/fail status.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- A Basys 3 FPGA development board.
- A MicroUSB programming cable.
- The free Vivado design suite (compatible with the 2024.1 release).
Ready to try the Stopwatch Challenge?
https://digilent.com/reference/programmable-logic/basys-3/demos/stopwatch#functionality
Whether you’re a student looking for a practical learning exercise or an educator seeking engaging lab ideas, this Basys 3 Stopwatch Challenge offers a compelling way to explore the fundamentals of digital logic design. Give it a try and see how precisely you can stop the timer!
