ICASSP 2011 conference lectures online (for free)
For the first time, the oral presentations of the International Conference on Accoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP) were recorded and posted online for free. This conference is the best in signal processing and it's diverse as well.
It has a bit speech processing, communication signal processing, and some interesting stuff like bio-inspired signal processing, where Prof. Sayed modeled the behaviour of a group of predetors attacking a herd of preys using distributed least mean...
Do Multirate Systems Have Transfer Functions?
The following text describes why I ask the strange question in the title of this blog. Some months ago I was asked to review a article manuscript, for possible publication in a signal processing journal, that presented a method for improving the performance of cascaded integrator-comb (CIC) decimation filters [1].
Thinking about such filters, Figure 1(a) shows the block diagram of a traditional 2nd-order CIC decimation filter followed by downsampling by the sample rate factor R. There we...
FREE Peer-reviewed IEEE signal processing courses
The IEEE signal processing society is offereing FREE peer reviewed courses, though not many, they are peer reviewed and span differenet topics like; wavelets, speech analysis, and statistical detection.
Enjoy
http://cnx.org/lenses/ieeesps/endorsements?b_start:int=0&-C=
A Fixed-Point Introduction by Example
IntroductionThe finite-word representation of fractional numbers is known as fixed-point. Fixed-point is an interpretation of a 2's compliment number usually signed but not limited to sign representation. It extends our finite-word length from a finite set of integers to a finite set of rational real numbers [1]. A fixed-point representation of a number consists of integer and fractional components. The bit length is defined...
DSP Algorithm Implementation: A Comprehensive Approach
As DSP engineers, ultimately we are required to design and implement specific DSP algorithms. The first step is to make a choice on which algorithm to use, e.g. for filtering should we use FIR or IIR. Then we can go a little bit deeper into the, high level, implementation details, e.g. use the symmetry in FIR filter to reduce complexity. When the algorithm is clear, the first step is to test and simulate the algorithm in a high level language like MATLAB.
After we reach confidence in...
DSP Papers, Articles, Theses, etc
As you may already know, there is a 'Papers and Theses' section on DSPRelated:http://www.dsprelated.com/documents.phpThere are hundreds of DSP Related documents (articles, papers, theses, dissertations, etc) scattered all around the web, and the goal with this section is to find and list as many of those documents as possible in one place. There are, at the moment, a little over 100 documents listed, which I believe is only a small subset of what is available out there, and I need your help...
Some Observations on Comparing Efficiency in Communication Systems
IntroductionEngineering is usually about managing efficiencies of one sort or another. One of my favorite working definitions of an engineer says, "An engineer is somebody who can do for a nickel what any damn fool can do for a dollar." In that case, the implication is that the cost is one of the characteristics being optimized. But cost isn't always the main efficiency metric, or at least the only one. Consider how a common transportation appliance, the automobile, is optimized...
Multiplying Two Binary Numbers
I just encountered what I think is an interesting technique for multiplying two integer numbers. Perhaps some of the readers here will also find it interesting.
Here's the technique: assume we want to multiply 18 times 17. We start by writing 18 and 17, side-by-side in column A and column B, as shown at the top of Figure 1. Next we divide the 18 at the top of column A by two, retaining only the integer part of the division, and double the 17 at the top of column B. The results of those two...
Implementing a full-duplex UART using the TMS320VC33 serial port
Although the TMS320VC33 serial port was designed to be used as a synchronous port, it can also be used as an asynchronous port under software control. This post describes the hardware and software needed to use a TMS320VC33 serial port as a full-duplex UART port. A schematic diagram and a lengthy code listing are provided to illustrate the solution. This note discusses the implementation of an interrupt-driven, full-duplex, asynchronous serial interface, 9600-baud UART with 8 data bits, 1...
Code Snippets Suggestions
Despite being only a couple of months old, the Code Snippet section ( DSPRelated.com/code.php ) already contains tens of snippets, thanks to the contributors who have taken the time to share their code.
But let's not stop here - there is room for several hundreds more snippets before the database can be said to cover a decent portion of the DSP field.
To keep the momentum going, I will do two things:
First, I am modifying the rewards program. Instead of...
Three Bin Exact Frequency Formulas for a Pure Complex Tone in a DFT
IntroductionThis is an article to hopefully give a better understanding to the Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) by deriving exact formulas for the frequency of a complex tone in a DFT. This time it is three bin versions. Although the problem is similar to the two bin version in my previous blog article "A Two Bin Exact Frequency Formula for a Pure Complex Tone in a DFT"[1], a slightly different approach is taken using linear algebra concepts. Because of an extra degree of freedom...
Project introduction: Digital Filter Blocks in MyHDL and their integration in pyFDA
Hi everyone! After a lot of hesitation and several failed attempts, I have finally entered the world of blogging. A little about myself : My name is Sriyash Caculo and I’m a third year undergrad student at BITS Pilani K.K. Birla Goa Campus pursuing a major in Electronics and Instrumentation engineering. Being an electronics engineer, I developed an interest in Digital Signal Processing and its implementation on hardware.
This blog-post is the first of many to come for the...
Microprocessor Family Tree
Below is a little microprocessor history. Perhaps some of the ol' timers here will recognize a few of these integrated circuits. I have a special place in my heart for the Intel 8080 chip.
Image copied, without permission, from the now defunct Creative Computing magazine, Vol. 11, No. 6, June 1985.
Smaller DFTs from bigger DFTs
IntroductionLet's consider the following hypothetical situation: You have a sequence $x$ with $N/2$ points and a black box which can compute the DFT (Discrete Fourier Transform) of an $N$ point sequence. How will you use the black box to compute the $N/2$ point DFT of $x$? While the problem may appear to be a bit contrived, the answer(s) shed light on some basic yet insightful and useful properties of the DFT.
On a related note, the reverse problem of computing an $N$...
Why is Fourier transform broken
Every engineer who took a basic signal processing course is familiar with the Gibbs phenomenon, however, not all know why it occurs, I mean really why!
The answer lies in the mathematical background that is almost always skipped in signal processing courses. Moreover, from my experience at least, many textbooks present the theory, e.g. the Fourier transform, as infallible and no discussion of the limitation of the topic is given.
The short answer is that the metric space of continuous...
DSPRelated Finally on Twitter!
Hello!
It's been a while since you've heard from me - and there are many reasons why:
1 - I've made a clown of myself (video here)
2 - I've been working on unifying the user management system. You can now participate to the three related sites (DSPRelated, FPGARelated and EmbeddedRelated) with only one account (same login info).
3- I've been working on getting up to speed with social networks and especially Twitter. I have resisted the idea for a while - at 40...
Implementing Simultaneous Digital Differentiation, Hilbert Transformation, and Half-Band Filtering
Recently I've been thinking about digital differentiator and Hilbert transformer implementations and I've developed a processing scheme that may be of interest to the readers here on dsprelated.com.
Premium Forum?
Chances are that by now, you have had a chance to browse the new design of the *related site that I published several weeks ago. I have been working for several months on this and I must admit that I am very happy with the results. This new design will serve as a base for many new exciting developments. I would love to hear your comments/suggestions if you have any, please use the comments system at the bottom of this page.
First on my list would be to build and launch a new forum...
The Swiss Army Knife of Digital Networks
This blog describes a general discrete-signal network that appears, in various forms, inside so many DSP applications.
Figure 1 shows how the network's structure has the distinct look of a digital filter—a comb filter followed by a 2nd-order recursive network. However, I do not call this useful network a filter because its capabilities extend far beyond simple filtering. Through a series of examples I've illustrated the fundamental strength of this Swiss Army Knife of digital networks...
Above-Average Smoothing of Impulsive Noise
In this blog I show a neat noise reduction scheme that has the high-frequency noise reduction behavior of a traditional moving average process but with much better impulsive-noise suppression.
In practice we may be required to make precise measurements in the presence of highly-impulsive noise. Without some sort of analog signal conditioning, or digital signal processing, it can be difficult to obtain stable and repeatable, measurements. This impulsive-noise smoothing trick,...
Free DSP Books on the Internet - Part Deux
Since Stephane Boucher posted my "Free DSP Books on the Internet" blog here in February 2008, I have learned of additional books on the Internet that are related to signal processing. I list those books below. Again, the listed books are copyrighted. The books' copyright holders have graciously provided their books free of charge for downloading for individual use, but multiple copies must not be made or printed. As such, be aware that using any of these books as promotional material is...
Exploring Human Hearing Range
Human Hearing RangeIn this post, I'll look at an interesting aspect of Audacity – using it to explore the threshold of human hearing. In my book Digital Signal Processing: A Gentle Introduction with Audio Examples, I go into this topic and I include a side note on the amazing hearing range of our canine companions.
Creating a Test Audio FileAudacity allows for the generation of a variety of test signals. If you click the Generate->Tone menu, it looks something like...
How the Cooley-Tukey FFT Algorithm Works | Part 1 - Repeating Calculations
The Fourier Transform is a powerful tool, used in many technologies, from audio processing to wireless communication. However, calculating the FT can be computationally expensive. The Cooley-Tukey Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm provides a significant speedup. It exploits the repetitive nature of calculations within the Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT), the mathematical foundation of the FT. By recognizing patterns in the DFT calculations and reusing intermediate results, the FFT vastly reduces the number of operations required. In this series of articles, we will look at how the Cooley-Tukey FFT algorithm works.
In Search of The Fourth Wave
Last year I participated in the first DSP Related online conference, where I presented a short talk called "In Search of The Fourth Wave". It's based on a small mystery I encountered when I was working on Think DSP. As you might know:
A sawtooth wave contains harmonics at integer multiples of the fundamental frequency, and their amplitudes drop off in proportion to 1/f. A square wave contains only odd multiples of the fundamental, but they also drop off...Simple Discrete-Time Modeling of Lossy LC Filters
There are many software applications that allow modeling LC filters in the frequency domain. But sometimes it is useful to have a time domain model, such as when you need to analyze a mixed analog and DSP system. For example, the system in Figure 1 includes an LC filter as well as a DSP portion. The LC filter could be an anti-alias filter, a channel filter, or some other LC network. For a design using undersampling, the filter would be bandpass [1]. By modeling...
Three Bin Exact Frequency Formulas for a Pure Complex Tone in a DFT
IntroductionThis is an article to hopefully give a better understanding to the Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) by deriving exact formulas for the frequency of a complex tone in a DFT. This time it is three bin versions. Although the problem is similar to the two bin version in my previous blog article "A Two Bin Exact Frequency Formula for a Pure Complex Tone in a DFT"[1], a slightly different approach is taken using linear algebra concepts. Because of an extra degree of freedom...
Microprocessor Family Tree
Below is a little microprocessor history. Perhaps some of the ol' timers here will recognize a few of these integrated circuits. I have a special place in my heart for the Intel 8080 chip.
Image copied, without permission, from the now defunct Creative Computing magazine, Vol. 11, No. 6, June 1985.
Implementing a full-duplex UART using the TMS320VC33 serial port
Although the TMS320VC33 serial port was designed to be used as a synchronous port, it can also be used as an asynchronous port under software control. This post describes the hardware and software needed to use a TMS320VC33 serial port as a full-duplex UART port. A schematic diagram and a lengthy code listing are provided to illustrate the solution. This note discusses the implementation of an interrupt-driven, full-duplex, asynchronous serial interface, 9600-baud UART with 8 data bits, 1...
Off Topic: Refraction in a Varying Medium
IntroductionThis article is another digression from a better understanding of the DFT. In fact, it is a digression from DSP altogether. However, since many of the readers here are Electrical Engineers and other folks who are very scientifically minded, I hope this article is of interest. A differential vector equation is derived for the trajectory of a point particle in a field of varying index of refraction. This applies to light, of course, but since it is a purely theoretical...
Book Recommendation "What is Mathematics?"
What is Mathematics is a classic, lucidly written survey of mathematics by Courant and Robbins. The first edition was published in 1941! I have only read a portion of it, mainly the chapter on calculus. One page of Courant is worth about five pages of my old college calculus textbook, and it’s a lot more fun to read.
The reader of this book should already be familiar with algebra and trigonometry. For engineers, some worthwhile sections of the book are: