Dire Dawa University

Dire Dawa Institute Of Technology

School Of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Classification of Signals
Classification of Signals

A. Multichannel & Multi-dimensional Signals

B. Continuous Time & Discrete Time Signals
C. Continuous Valued & Discrete Valued Signals
D. Random & Deterministic Signals

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Cont.…
A. Multichannel & Multidimensional Signals
I. Multichannel Signals
 Signals are generated from multiple sources or sensors
 Those signals can be represented as vectors of different signal components
E.g.
Seismic signals
ECG signals (3 Channel, 12 Channel,.. etc.)
II. Multidimensional Signals:
 The no. of independent variable on which the signal is depended defines the no. of
dimension
 A signal is called M -dimensional if it’s value is a function of M independent
variables.
E.g.
Black & white Picture is two dimensional [I(x, y)]
Black & White motion (Television) picture is three dimensional [I(x, y, t)] 3
B. Continuous-Time versus Discrete-Time Signals
I. Continuous-Time Signals: signal is defined for every value of time in a given
interval (a; b) where a ≥ ∞ and b ≤ ∞.
Examples: voltage as a function of time, height as a function of pressure, number
of positron emissions as a function of time.

B. Discrete-Time Signals: signal is defined only for certain specific values of

time; typically taken to be equally spaced points in an interval.
Examples: number of stocks traded per day, average income per province.

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Cont.…
C. Continuous-Amplitude versus Discrete-Amplitude
I. Continuous-Amplitude Signals: signal amplitude takes on a spectrum of
values within one or more intervals
Examples: color, temperature, pain-level

II. Discrete-Amplitude Signals: signal amplitude takes on values from a finite set
Examples: digital image, population of a country

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Cont.…
Deterministic vs. Random Signals

I. Deterministic signal:
 Any signal that can be uniquely described by an explicit mathematical expression, a
table of data, or a well-defined rule
 Past, present and future values of the signal are known precisely without any
uncertainty
II. Random signal:
 Any signal that lacks a unique and explicit mathematical expression and thus
evolves in time in an unpredictable manner
 It may not be possible to accurately describe the signal
 The deterministic model of the signal may be too complicated to be of use.

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Analog and Digital Signals

Analog signal = continuous time + continuous amplitude

Digital signal = discrete time + discrete amplitude