ECE 224Embedded Microprocessor Systems
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Engineering
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 5 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
Microprocessor system architecture, bus systems, memory systems, peripherals, parallel interfaces, serial interfaces, analog interfaces, data transfer, synchronization, error detection/correction, testing and debugging.
Prerequisites
- Complete all of the following
- Must have completed the following:
- ECE222 - Digital Computers (0.50)
- Complete 1 of the following
- Students must be in level 2B or higher
- Complete 1 of the following
- Enrolled in CS-Digital Hardware Specialization, or H-Software Engineering
- Enrolled in a BASc program
- Must have completed the following:
Antirequisites
- Not completed nor concurrently enrolled in any of the following:
- MTE325 - Microprocessor Systems and Interfacing for Mechatronics Engineering (0.50)
Leads to
Fall 2026 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 4769 | 147 / 148 | W 11:30–12:50 F 13:00–14:20 Sep 15 11:30–12:20 Sep 29 11:30–12:20 Oct 20 11:30–12:20 Nov 3 11:30–12:20 Nov 17 11:30–12:20 Dec 1 11:30–12:20 |
| LAB 201 | 4770 | 45 / 42 | Sep 21 13:30–16:20 Oct 5 13:30–16:20 Nov 2 13:30–16:20 Nov 16 13:30–16:20 Nov 30 13:30–16:20 |
| LAB 202 | 4771 | 35 / 38 | Sep 22 13:30–16:20 Oct 6 13:30–16:20 Nov 3 13:30–16:20 Nov 17 13:30–16:20 Dec 1 13:30–16:20 |
| LAB 203 | 4772 | 41 / 42 | Sep 23 13:30–16:20 Oct 7 13:30–16:20 Nov 4 13:30–16:20 Nov 18 13:30–16:20 Dec 2 13:30–16:20 |
| LAB 204 | 5412 | 26 / 26 | Sep 24 13:30–16:20 Oct 8 13:30–16:20 Nov 5 13:30–16:20 Nov 19 13:30–16:20 Dec 3 13:30–16:20 |
| TUT 101 | 4777 | 147 / 148 | W 16:30–17:20 |
Reviewed on UW Flow
63% liked it30% easy82% useful
From 161 ratings and 29 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
Had the course with Professor Bill Bishop. Honestly he's a legend, and truly cares about ECE students. He really tried to keep us engaged in the lecture content. High quality videos going over a lot of content that is useful for co-op. However, the course was incredibly easy. Very little critical thinking involved. It was basically memorize the slides. My routine for the course was to binge the ~1 hour of weekly content on 2x speed, then do the weekly quiz. Our lab was replaced by a research report which was very disappointing. In summary, while the content was useful, I really wish there was more application and that we had done the labs. They should have either sent us out hardware, or…
Nov 2020 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
This course will be useful only if you are gonna enter Storage Industry (e.g. data center, initiator, expander, target etc.) Teaches you parallel serial interface and protocol and other random stuff. The course content becomes messy when entering DAC and ADC. These are just for matching with content in 318. IMO this course should be moved to a hard core 4th year TE instead of a mandatory 2nd/3rd year course. 327 is way more useful than this. Labs are useless and painful to debug (hardware issue, project creating issue, random issues.. not your logic/code problem!) which eventually makes the lab room a vortex of retardness.
Mar 2015 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Tough course if you have Rodolfo. If you get Bishop you can just pattern match his exams. Pre-GPT this used to be a hard course.
Feb 2026 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this
Useful and easy. Can easily get above 90 if you finish all the assignments and past exams prof Bishop posted on learn. One thing to improve is that the labs are too old and useless, especially lab1. It should be changed to a more intersting and meaningful topic.
Dec 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
As someone who does purely software as a CE, I actually kinda liked this course! Lots of resources posted to LEARN and Professor Bishop is very knowledgeable, which is AMAZING when compared to the other courses and profs we had in 2B...
Dec 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
140 posts and comments in 116 threads mention ECE 224, December 2011 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.
Fall 2024
Almost failed ECE224. What should I do? 5 points, 7 comments
u/Holiday_Cold8335: “I barely passed with sub 60 in that course. Its a course about microprocessors. What do I do? Should I try to retake it? COULD I retake it? Is there a way to get it removed? It was so hard for me.”
ece 224 lecture videos 2 points, 0 comments
u/whenjob: “hello all. i know the ece 224 videos are out there and i really want to watch them out of interest (and interview prep 🙄). i will be willing to provide the sharer of the videos with a bribe of a coffee. thank u and pls dm soon 🥺”
Most academically difficult term so far? 25 points, 39 comments
“Wondering which year/term was the most challenging for you? Preferably students in engineering or more specifically mech eng.”
u/RandomDude_102: “2B ECE for sure. ECE 298, 252, 224 had a lot of labs and deliverables”
Winter 2024
ECE 224 video lectures 2 points, 3 comments
u/whenjob: “Could anyone please share the videos for ece 224? im not in ece and am just really interested in the course - would really appreciate it”
ECE 2B S24 1 point, 2 comments
u/Tight_Document_1513: “Has anyone been taught by these professors during their 2B term? ECE298 - Pope ECE207 - Dabbagh ECE224 - Pellizoni R ECE208 - Harris ECE203 - Yang E-H ECE252 - Zarnett Any advice/tips would be appreciated.”
Fall 2023
CS 458 and ECE 224 lecture videos 1 point, 2 comments
u/whenjob: “Does anyone have lecture videos of either CS 458 or ECE 224? Missed a lecture and will miss another one for 458, and tryna audit 224 but some days conflict with my schedule - would really appreciate if anyone could share the lecture videos 🙂”
Spring 2023
What are your core courses? 8 points, 11 comments
“Basically title - What are several courses that you think really define your program? Any thoughts on them, and how they went? Looking forward to the discussion (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ\:･ﾟ✧”
u/Xierumeng: “Computer engineering: ECE 224 ECE 320 ECE 327 ECE 350 ECE 423 ECE 455 Honourable mention: ECE 105 ECE 106 Douglas Harder Peter Levine Paul Ward The ECE advisors”
Winter 2023
How manageable is this workload? CS AI spec 4 points, 28 comments
u/tendstwofiftytwo: “… to feedback control List 2 Comms Course SPCOM 227 CS 486 Intro to AI CS 349 User interfaces ECE 224 Embedded microprocessor systems (Once upon a time I was digital hardware, so I took ECE124 in 1B, chose to switch to AI spec, as this opened SE380 -> ECE 488 Multivariable control …”
cs workload 1 point, 12 comments
u/whenjob: “planning my f23, w24 terms, how heavy does this look - f23 - cs 343, ece 224, cs elective (cs 486/cs 482/???) w24 - cs 452, cs 458, non cs elective 3 courses each term, no more electives also - gonna be searching for a ng job in f23 so need to be able to accommodate for …”
Fall 2022
how hard is Comp Eng 2B? 21 points, 16 comments
“How hard is 2B compared to 2A for comp eng? Which courses tend to be the hardest or most time consuming? Have the courses changed at all after COVID?”
u/_Burgr: “ece252 labs and ece224 labs were the most time consuming”
Taking CS 452 and 444 at the same time? 4 points, 9 comments
“Title, looking to hear some opinions from people who have taken those courses before. Considering a term w/ 444 + 452 + three other non-cs bird-ish courses. …”
u/clean_mint_mouthwash: “… I'd much rather just read through the ECE 224 notes and call it a day after reading that warning. …”
ece 224 with bill bishop 1 point, 3 comments
u/whenjob: “cs major in dhw specialization, i have nothing but pure hatred for the last 2 ece (124, 222) courses ive taken bc of how poorly run they were and learnt pretty much nothing but - 1. 224 seems interesting and 2. …”
Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026
- Undergraduate Calendar, 2026–27The official entry
- Requirements for Fall 2026Waterloo’s requisite checker
- Schedule of Classes, Fall 2026Instructors, rooms, live seats
- Quest Class SearchWhere you enrol
- Course outlinesSyllabi from past terms (UW login)
- UW FlowStudent ratings and reviews
- WClassesPast sections back to 2004, and who taught them