Description
1 Overview
In this assignment, you will learn the basics of sequential logic, and create both a one-hot state machine and
a reduced state machine.
2 Part 1: RS Latch, Master-Slave D Flip-Flop, and Register
For this part of the homework you are going to make your own Register, from the ground up. All of the
circuits in this part will be in the latches.sim file.
2.1 RS Latch
Open up the the RS Latch subcircuit in the latches.sim file. For this part you will need to create an RS
Latch. Note: You only need 1 output, so you may disregard the inverse output of a normal RS Latch.
You can find information about this circuit in the Patt & Patel textbook, pages 65 and 66.
2.2 Master-Slave D Flip-Flop
Open up the D Flip-Flop subcircuit. For this part you will need to create a Master-Slave D Flip-Flop using
the RS Latch you just created. Note: Your implementation of this Master-Slave D Flip-Flop should use
only change on the rising edge, i.e, the state of the D Flip-Flop should only be able to change at the exact
moment when the CLK (Clock) input goes from 0 to 1.
Consider implementing a Gated D Latch subcircuit first.
Figure 1: An example of the Master Slave D Flip Flop, with the boxes representing Gated D Latches
You can find information about the Gated D Latch and this circuit in the Patt & Patel
textbook, pages 65 and 66.
2.3 Register
Open up the Register subcircuit. For this part you will need to create a 4-bit Register. This Register also
needs to use edge-triggered logic. Hint: Split the 4-bit input and utilize the D Flip-Flops you just created.
3 Part 2: Finite State Machine
For this part of the homework, you will implement the finite state machine behind a parking garage gate.
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3.1 The State Machine
We are modeling the finite state machine behind a boom barrier (think gated parking garage entrances).
3.1.1 Scenario
1. State: We start with the barrier closed, there is no car, and the SCAN YOUR BUZZCARD light is
on.
2. Event: A car approaches the machine and the driver scans their card.
3. State: The barrier opens and stays open.
4. Event: The driver drives under the gate, the sensor under the gate starts showing that there is a car
underneath.
5. State: The barrier stays open, waiting for the car to pass.
6. Event: The driver clears the gate, and the sensor under the gate starts showing that there is not a car
underneath.
7. Our state machine loops back to the beginning, with the gate closed and light on.
Figure 2: Our state machine with its 3 states in order.
3.1.2 States
Our state machine has 3 states: State 0: Gate Closed, State 1: Gate Open, and State 2: Car Under
Gate. Our state machine begins with State 0: Gate Closed.
3.1.3 Inputs
• G = Valid card scan from card scanner (1 when a valid card scan has been made, 0 otherwise)
• F = Gate sensor: whether or not there is a car passing under the gate (1 when a car is underneath
the gate, 0 otherwise)
3.1.4 Outputs
• A = Scan Card Now light at the kiosk
• B = Signal to the motor to keep the gate open
• C = Signal to the motor to keep the gate closed
Note that B and C are the inverse of each other and there’s no practical reason why you’d do
this in real life. They exist just for the sake of having more outputs.
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3.1.5 State – Output Mappings
• State 0: Scan card light and closed garage door
• State 1: Open garage door
• State 2: Open garage door
3.1.6 Transitions
1. If we are in state 0 and G == 1 (a card was read) we transition to state 1.
2. If we are in state 1 and F == 1 (a car is detected underneath) we transition to state 2.
3. If we are in state 2 and F == 0 (the detected car is gone) we transition to state 0.
Note that these rules don’t include every possible combination of inputs and current state.
You should interpret these rules as sufficient – for example, if we are in state 0 and G == 1, we should
transition to state 1 regardless of the value of F. Similarly, all input combinations not containing G == 1
at this state should result in staying in this state.
3.1.7 Finite State Machine Diagram
Here is a diagram of our state machine containing all of the information listed above:
State 0
Gate Closed
AC
start
State 1
Gate Open
B
State 2
Car in Gate
B
G F
!F
Figure 3: The State Machine Diagram for our State Machine
3.2 One-Hot Encoding Implementation
For this part of the homework you will need to implement our state machine in CircuitSim using a One-Hot
Encoding. What this means is that we use 1 bit per state to represent our current state. So with our 3
states, we will need 3 bits. It is important that this machine stays one-hot: there should be at
most one bit set to 1 in the register at any time.
Use the following mappings for each state in your One-Hot state machine:
• State 0: 001
• State 1: 010
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• State 2: 100
Make this circuit in the One-Hot State Machine subcircuit in the fsm.sim file. Also, notice along with G
and F there are 2 other inputs: CLK is the clock and will be used to simulate the clock of the circuit cycling
on and off, and RESET should reset your state machine.
Your state machine, when the circuit is initially started or when the reset button is pushed,
will return to the invalid 000 state. You need to handle this case to make it go to State 0,
which is our start state.
3.3 Reduced Encoding Implementation
For this part of the homework you will need to implement our state machine in CircuitSim using a Reduced
Encoding. This means we will be using two bits to represent the state instead of the three bits we used in
the One-hot case.
Each state will be represented by its number in two-bit binary: State 0 corresponds to 00,
State 1 to 01, and State 2 to 10. The 11 encoding is unused.
3.3.1 Worksheet
In order to reach this encoding, you need to prepare a truth table, Karnaugh maps, and finally reach the
final reduced expressions that you will use for the gates in your circuit. For this purpose, we have prepared
a worksheet that you will find in this archive that you must complete. This worksheet will be scanned
and submitted on Gradescope, and its contents will be written on Canvas for autograding. Please follow
instructions on the worksheet for more information. You MUST complete the worksheet.
IMPORTANT! SUBMIT YOUR WORKSHEET CONTENTS ON CANVAS TO SEE THAT
YOU HAVE GOTTEN IT RIGHT BEFORE CONTINUING.
3.3.2 Circuit
Now that the worksheet is complete and you have verified your results on Canvas, it’s time to implement
this circuit in the Reduced State Machine subcircuit in the fsm.sim file. Also, notice along with G and F
there are 2 other inputs: CLK is the clock and will be used to simulate the clock of the circuit cycling on and
off, and RESET should reset your state machine.
Since 00 is the default state, no additional logic for the resetting is required in this case.
4 Deliverables
Please make sure the following items have been submitted in the correct locations:
1. Worksheet contents ⇒ Canvas, submission details on Worksheet
2. Worksheet scan ⇒ Gradescope, Homework 4 Worksheet Scan assignment
3. fsm.sim and latches.sim ⇒ Gradescope, Homework 4 Circuits assignment
Be sure to check your score to see if you submitted the right files, as well as your email
frequently until the due date of the assignment for any potential updates.
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5 Rules and Regulations
5.1 General Rules
1. Starting with the assembly homeworks, any code you write must be meaningfully commented. You
should comment your code in terms of the algorithm you are implementing; we all know what each
line of code does.
2. Although you may ask TAs for clarification, you are ultimately responsible for what you submit. This
means that (in the case of demos) you should come prepared to explain to the TA how any piece of
code you submitted works, even if you copied it from the book or read about it on the internet.
3. Please read the assignment in its entirety before asking questions.
4. Please start assignments early, and ask for help early. Do not email us the night the assignment is due
with questions.
5. If you find any problems with the assignment it would be greatly appreciated if you reported them to
the author (which can be found at the top of the assignment). Announcements will be posted if the
assignment changes.
5.2 Submission Conventions
1. All files you submit for assignments in this course should have your name at the top of the file as
a comment for any source code file, and somewhere in the file, near the top, for other files unless
otherwise noted.
2. When preparing your submission you may either submit the files individually to Canvas/Gradescope
or you may submit an archive (zip or tar.gz only please) of the files. You can create an archive by right
clicking on files and selecting the appropriate compress option on your system. Both ways (uploading
raw files or an archive) are exactly equivalent, so choose whichever is most convenient for you.
3. Do not submit compiled files, that is .class files for Java code and .o files for C code. Only submit the
files we ask for in the assignment.
4. Do not submit links to files. The autograder does not understand it, and we will not manually grade
assignments submitted this way as it is easy to change the files after the submission period ends.
5.3 Submission Guidelines
1. You are responsible for turning in assignments on time. This includes allowing for unforeseen circumstances. If you have an emergency let us know IN ADVANCE of the due time supplying documentation (i.e. note from the dean, doctor’s note, etc). Extensions will only be granted to those who contact
us in advance of the deadline and no extensions will be made after the due date.
2. You are also responsible for ensuring that what you turned in is what you meant to turn in. After
submitting you should be sure to download your submission into a brand new folder and test if it
works. No excuses if you submit the wrong files, what you turn in is what we grade. In addition, your
assignment must be turned in via Canvas/Gradescope. Under no circumstances whatsoever we will
accept any email submission of an assignment. Note: if you were granted an extension you will still
turn in the assignment over Canvas/Gradescope.
3. There is a 6-hour grace period added to all assignments. You may submit your assignment without
penalty up until 11:55PM, or with 25% penalty up until 5:55AM. So what you should take from this is
not to start assignments on the last day and plan to submit right at 11:54AM. You alone are responsible
for submitting your homework before the grace period begins or ends; neither Canvas/Gradescope, nor
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your flaky internet are to blame if you are unable to submit because you banked on your computer
working up until 11:54PM. The penalty for submitting during the grace period (25%) or after (no
credit) is non-negotiable.
5.4 Syllabus Excerpt on Academic Misconduct
Academic misconduct is taken very seriously in this class. Quizzes, timed labs and the final examination are
individual work.
Homework assignments are collaborative, In addition many if not all homework assignments will be evaluated
via demo or code review. During this evaluation, you will be expected to be able to explain every aspect of
your submission. Homework assignments will also be examined using computer programs to find evidence
of unauthorized collaboration.
What is unauthorized collaboration? Each individual programming assignment should be coded by you.
You may work with others, but each student should be turning in their own version of the assignment.
Submissions that are essentially identical will receive a zero and will be sent to the Dean of Students’ Office
of Academic Integrity. Submissions that are copies that have been superficially modified to conceal that
they are copies are also considered unauthorized collaboration.
You are expressly forbidden to supply a copy of your homework to another student via electronic means. This includes simply e-mailing it to them so they can look at it. If you supply
an electronic copy of your homework to another student and they are charged with copying,
you will also be charged. This includes storing your code on any site which would allow other
parties to obtain your code such as but not limited to public repositories (Github), pastebin,
etc. If you would like to use version control, use github.gatech.edu
5.5 Is collaboration allowed?
Collaboration is allowed on a high level, meaning that you may discuss design points and concepts relevant
to the homework with your peers, share algorithms and pseudo-code, as well as help each other debug code.
What you shouldn’t be doing, however, is pair programming where you collaborate with each other on a
single instance of the code. Furthermore, sending an electronic copy of your homework to another student for
them to look at and figure out what is wrong with their code is not an acceptable way to help them, because
it is frequently the case that the recipient will simply modify the code and submit it as their own. Consider
instead using a screen-sharing collaboration app, such as http://webex.gatech.edu/, to help someone with
debugging if you’re not in the same room.
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Figure 4: Collaboration rules, explained colorfully
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