System Design

• Expansion cartridge

The project involved designing a cartridge for a portable gaming device called the Gameboy Advance. The cartridge must act like a normal game cartridge until a data transfer is initiated. When a transfer is initiated, the Gameboy stops executing and downloads a new application.

• Circuit schematic

The circuit requires programmable logic devices to implement the control of the Bluetooth link, and a Bluetooth device to transmit the data. The circuit utilizes a CPLD and an FPGA for the control task. The FPGA receives the information from the Bluetooth device and makes it available to the CPU. The CPU can then read and store the data. The CPLD is used to allow successful writing of the FLASH memory device which is on the cartridge. The CPLD also allows the flashing of the boot up application in memory. Below is a block level schematic of the cartridge.