Chapter 1 : Signals and Signal Processing

• Signals
• Signal Processing
• Characterization and Classification of Signals
• Typical Signal Processing Operations
• Some Application Areas of DSP
Signals
•Signals:
Time varying measurable quantity whose variation normally conveys
information.
Examples :
 Sound -Air pressure variation at a point as a function of time and point in space.
 Speech-Black and white picture is a representation of light intensity as a function
of two spatial coordinates.
 Video signals consists of sequence of images called frames is a function of three
variables (two spatial coordinates and time).
• A signal carries information and the objective of signal processing is to extract the
useful information carried by the signal.
Signal Processing
• Signal processing:
 is concerned with mathematical representation of signals and the algorithmic
operations carried out on it to extract the information.
 Modify a signal to extract /enhance/ rearrange the information.
Examples: Noise reduction, Data compression
• Analog signals “processed” using circuits consisting of resistors,
capacitors, inductors, transistors and operational amplifiers.
Signal Processing
• Digital signals “processed” using programmed computers, microcomputers or
special purpose digital hardware.
• Examples of analogue signals appearing in nature,
 Electrical signals : voltages, currents, fields
 Acoustic signals: mechanical vibrations, sound waves
 Mechanical signals: displacements, velocities
• Analog signal processing may include:
 Linear : amplification, filtering
 Non linear: squaring, rectification, inversion
Signal Processing
• Limitations of practical analog processing:
 Restricted accuracy
 Sensitivity to noise
 High cost of data storage
 Limited speed of operation
 Problems in implementing time synchronized operations.
Signal Processing
• DSP Operations:
 Converting analog signals into digital (usually) binary sequence
 Performing all signal operations in the digital form.
Typical DSP Schematic

Analog Analog Analog

ADC DSP Processor DAC Analog Filter
Filter
I/P O/P
Signal Processing
• Advantages of DSP:
 Digital data storage and transmission is much more effective than in the analog
form
 Flexibility : Processing functions can be altered or adjusted.
 Signal multiplexing
 Efficient implementation of fast algorithms.
Characterization and classification of Signals
• Depending on the nature of the independent variables and value of the
function defining the signal varies types of signals can be defined:
I. Continuous-time signals:
 Independent variable is continuous and continuous time signal is defined at every
instant of the time.
example: 5sin (62.82t): sine wave of frequency 62.82 rad/sec (10Hz)
II. Discrete-time signals:
 Exists only at discrete points in time.
Continued ….
III. Analogue signal:
 A continuous-time signal with continuous amplitude
IV. Digital signal:
 A discrete-time signals with discrete-valued amplitudes represented by finite
number of digits.
 A discrete-time signals with continuous-valued amplitude is called a sampled data
signal
Continued ….

• Dimensionality:
1-D Signals:
 A function of single independent variable (e.g. speech signal)
2-D Signals:
 A function of two independent variables. (e.g. image signals)
Multidimensional (M-D) signals:
 A function of more than one independent variable
A single source signals:
 Scalar signals
Continued …
•A multiple source signals:
 Vector signals or multichannel signals
 u(t) : represents a continuous time 1-D signal
 u[n] : represents a discrete-time 1-D signal
𝑟(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑡)
 u(x,y,t)= 𝑔(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑡)
𝑏(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑡)
 Represents a 3-D signals; x & y are spatial variables and t is temporal.
• Deterministic signal:
 A signal that can be uniquely determined by a well defined process such as
mathematical expression or rule.
Continued …
•Random signal:
 A signal that is generated in a random fashion and can’t be predicted a head of
time.
Typical Signal processing operations
• For analog signals most of the signal processing operations are usually carried out
in time-domain.
• For discrete-time signals both time-domain and frequency-domain
operations are employed
 Scaling : y(t) = α x(t)
 Delay : y(t) = x(𝑡 − 𝑡0 )
 Addition : y(t) = 𝑥1 𝑡 + 𝑥2 𝑡 − 𝑥3 (𝑡)
 Product : y(t) = 𝑥1 𝑡 *𝑥2 𝑡
Some Application areas of DSP
• Music : recording, playback, mixing, synthesis, storage (e.g. CD-players, sampling
rate 44.1kHz, 16 bits/sample)
• Speech : recognition, synthesis : (e.g. Automatic speaker, telephone speech : 8kHz
sample rate)
• Communications and multimedia :
 Signal generation, storage, transmission
• Radar : filtering, detection, feature extraction, localization, tracking, identification
 Example: air-traffic control
• Image processing :
 2-D filtering, enhancements, compression
Example: satellite images
Biomedicine : diagnosis