Algorithms for Efficient Computation of Convolution
●5 commentsConvolution is an important mathematical tool in both fields of signal and image processing. It is employed in filtering, denoising, edge detection, correlation, compression, deconvolution, simulation, and in many other applications. Although the concept of convolution is not new, the efficient computation of convolution is still an open topic. As the amount of processed data is constantly increasing, there is considerable request for fast manipulation with huge data. Moreover, there is demand for fast algorithms which can exploit computational power of modern parallel architectures.
Digital Signal Processor Fundamentals and System Design
●9 commentsDigital Signal Processors (DSPs) have been used in accelerator systems for more than fifteen years and have largely contributed to the evolution towards digital technology of many accelerator systems, such as machine protection, diagnostics and control of beams, power supply and motors. This paper aims at familiarising the reader with DSP fundamentals, namely DSP characteristics and processing development. Several DSP examples are given, in particular on Texas Instruments DSPs, as they are used in the DSP laboratory companion of the lectures this paper is based upon. The typical system design flow is described; common difficulties, problems and choices faced by DSP developers are outlined; and hints are given on the best solution.
Novel Method of Showing Frequency Transients in the Fourier Transform and it’s Application in Time-Frequency Analysis
Fourier Transform in the frequency domain is modified to also analyse frequency transients i.e. changes in the frequency spectrum with time variable of any order. This is analytically, a very useful tool as there are many problems where frequency variation with time has to be analyzed e.g. Doppler shift, Light through different mediums in time and space. Numerical calculations are usually done for such problems when needed. Here, Fourier transform is analyzed to incorporate more variables that simultaneously do the Time lag-Frequency Analysis (TLFA) from Fourier Transform by changing the Fourier Operator. Also, the Frequency Derivative Analysis (FDA) of any order can be analyzed from Fourier Transform. Validity of the operator is examined using Eigen value analysis and operator algebra.
STUDY OF DIGITAL MODULATION TECHNIQUES
●1 commentModulation is the process of facilitating the transfer of information over a medium. Typically the objective of a digital communication system is to transport digital data between two or more nodes. In radio communications this is usually achieved by adjusting a physical characteristic of a sinusoidal carrier, either the frequency, phase, amplitude or a combination thereof . This is performed in real systems with a modulator at the transmitting end to impose the physical change to the carrier and a demodulator at the receiving end to detect the resultant modulation on reception. Hence, modulation can be objectively defined as the process of converting information so that it can be successfully sent through a medium. This thesis deals with the current digital modulation techniques used in industry. Also, the thesis examines the qualitative and quantitative criteria used in selection of one modulation technique over the other. All the experiments, and realted data collected were obtained using MATLAB and SIMULINK
Region based Active Contour Segmentation
In this paper, we propose a natural framework that allows any region-based segmentation energy to be re-formulated in a local way. We consider local rather than global image statistics and evolve a contour based on local information. Localized contours are capable of segmenting objects with heterogeneous feature profiles that would be difficult to capture correctly using a standard global method. The presented technique is versatile enough to be used with any global region-based active contour energy and instill in it the benefits of localization. We describe this framework and demonstrate the localization of three well-known energies in order to illustrate how our framework can be applied to any energy. We then compare each localized energy to its global counterpart to show the improvements that can be achieved. Next, an in-depth study of the behaviors of these energies in response to the degree of localization is given. Finally, we show results on challenging images to illustrate the robust and accurate segmentations that are possible with this new class of active contour models.
LOW-RESOURCE DELAYLESS SUBBAND ADAPTIVE FILTER USING WEIGHTED OVERLAP-ADD
●2 commentsA delayless structure targeted for low-resource implementation is proposed to eliminate filterbank processing delays in subband adaptive filters (SAFs). Rather than using direct IFFT or polyphase filterbanks to transform the SAFs back into the time-domain, the proposed method utilizes a weighted overlap-add (WOLA) synthesis. Low-resource real-time implementations are targeted and as such do not involve long (as long as the echo plant) FFT or IFFT operations. Also, the proposed approach facilitates time distribution of the adaptive filter reconstruction calculations crucial for efficient real-time and hardware implementation. The method is implemented on an oversampled WOLA filterbank employed as part of an echo cancellation application. Evaluation results demonstrate that the proposed implementation outperforms conventional SAF systems since the signals used in actual adaptive filtering are not distorted by filterbank aliasing. The method is a good match for partial update adaptive algorithms since segments of the time-domain adaptive filter are sequentially reconstructed and updated.
OPTIMAL DESIGN OF DIGITAL EQUIVALENTS TO ANALOG FILTERS
●4 commentsThe proposed optimal algorithm for the digitizing of analog filters is based on two existing filter design methods: the extended window design (EWD) and the matched–pole (MP) frequency sampling design. The latter is closely related to the filter design with iterative weighted least squares (WLS). The optimization is performed with an original MP design that yields an equiripple digitizing error. Then, a drastic reduction of the digitizing error is achieved through the introduction of a fractional time shift that minimizes the magnitude of the equiripple error within a given frequency interval. The optimal parameters thus obtained can be used to generate the EWD equations, together with a variable fractional delay output, as described in an earlier paper. Finally, in contrast to the WLS procedure, which relies on a “good guess” of the weighting function, the MP optimization is straightforward.
A NEW PARALLEL IMPLEMENTATION FOR PARTICLE FILTERS AND ITS APPLICATION TO ADAPTIVE WAVEFORM DESIGN
Sequential Monte Carlo particle filters (PFs) are useful for estimating nonlinear non-Gaussian dynamic system parameters. As these algorithms are recursive, their real-time implementation can be computationally complex. In this paper, we analyze the bottlenecks in existing parallel PF algorithms, and we propose a new approach that integrates parallel PFs with independent Metropolis-Hastings (PPF-IMH) algorithms to improve root mean-squared estimation error performance. We implement the new PPF-IMH algorithm on a Xilinx Virtex-5 field programmable gate array (FPGA) platform. For a onedimensional problem and using 1,000 particles, the PPF-IMH architecture with four processing elements utilizes less than 5% Virtex-5 FPGA resources and takes 5.85 μs for one iteration. The algorithm performance is also demonstrated when designing the waveform for an agile sensing application.
A pole-zero placement technique for designing second-order IIR parametric equalizer filters
A new procedure is presented for designing second-order parametric equalizer filters. In contrast to the traditional approach, in which the design is based on a bilinear transform of an analog filter, the presented procedure allows for designing the filter directly in the digital domain. A rather intuitive technique known as pole-zero placement, is treated here in a quantitative way. It is shown that by making some meaningful approximations, a set of relatively simple design equations can be obtained. Design examples of both notch and resonance filters are included to illustrate the performance of the proposed method, and to compare with state-of-the-art solutions.
Adaptive distributed noise reduction for speech enhancement in wireless acoustic sensor networks
An adaptive distributed noise reduction algorithm for speech enhancement is considered, which operates in a wireless acoustic sensor network where each node collects multiple microphone signals. In previous work, it was shown theoretically that for a stationary scenario, the algorithm provides the same signal estimators as the centralized multi-channel Wiener filter, while significantly compressing the data that is transmitted between the nodes. Here, we present simulation results of a fully adaptive implementation of the algorithm, in a non-stationary acoustic scenario with a moving speaker and two babble noise sources. The algorithm is implemented using a weighted overlap-add technique to reduce the overall input-output delay. It is demonstrated that good results can be obtained by estimating the required signal statistics with a long-term forgetting factor without downdating, even though the signal statistics change along with the iterative filter updates. It is also demonstrated that simultaneous node updating provides a significantly smoother and faster tracking performance compared to sequential node updating.
De-Noising Audio Signals Using MATLAB Wavelets Toolbox
Based on the fact that noise and distortion are the main factors that limit the capacity of data transmission in telecommunications and that they also affect the accuracy of the results in the signal measurement systems, whereas, modeling and removing noise and distortions are at the core of theoretical and practical considerations in communications and signal processing. Another important issue here is that, noise reduction and distortion removal are major problems in applications such as; cellular mobile communication, speech recognition, image processing, medical signal processing, radar, sonar, and any other application where the desired signals cannot be isolated from noise and distortion. The use of wavelets in the field of de-noising audio signals is relatively new, the use of this technique has been increasing over the past 20 years. One way to think about wavelets matches the way how our eyes perceive the world when they are faced to different distances. In the real world, a forest can be seen from many different perspectives; they are, in fact, different scales of resolution. From the window of an airplane, for instance, the forest cover appears as a solid green roof. From the window of a car, the green roof gets transformed into individual trees, and if we leave the car and approach to the forest, we can gradually see details such as the trees branches and leaves. If we had a magnifying glass, we could see a dew drop on the tip of a leaf. As we get closer to even smaller scales, we can discover details that we had not seen before. On the other hand, if we tried to do the same thing with a photograph, we would be completely frustrated. If we enlarged the picture "closer" to a tree, we would only be able to see a blurred tree image; we would not be able to spot neither the branch, nor the leaf, and it would be impossible to spot the dew drop. Although our eyes can see on many scales of resolution, the camera can only display one at a time. In this chapter, we introduce the reader to a way to reduce noise in an audio signal by using wavelet transforms. We developed this technique by using the wavelet tool in MATLAB. A Simulink is used to acquire an audio signal and we use it to convert the signal to a digital format so it can be processed. Finally, a Graphical User Interface Development Environment (GUIDE) is used to create a graphical user interface. The reader can go through this chapter systematically, from the theory to the implementation of the noise reduction technique. We will introduce in the first place the basic theory of an audio signal, the noise treatment fundamentals and principles of the wavelets theory. Then, we will present the development of noise reduction when using wavelet functions in MATLAB. In the foreground, we will demonstrate the usefulness of wavelets to reduce noise in a model system where Gaussian noise is inserted to an audio signal. In the following sections, we will present a practical example of noise reduction in a sinusoidal signal that has been generated in the MATLAB, which it is followed by an example with a real audio signal captured via Simulink. Finally, the graphic noise reduction model using GUIDE will be shown.
Using the DFT as a Filter: Correcting a Misconception
●2 commentsI have read, in some of the literature of DSP, that when the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) is used as a filter the process of performing a DFT causes an input signal's spectrum to be frequency translated down to zero Hz (DC). I can understand why someone might say that, but I challenge that statement as being incorrect. Here are my thoughts.
OPTIMAL DESIGN OF DIGITAL EQUIVALENTS TO ANALOG FILTERS
●4 commentsThe proposed optimal algorithm for the digitizing of analog filters is based on two existing filter design methods: the extended window design (EWD) and the matched–pole (MP) frequency sampling design. The latter is closely related to the filter design with iterative weighted least squares (WLS). The optimization is performed with an original MP design that yields an equiripple digitizing error. Then, a drastic reduction of the digitizing error is achieved through the introduction of a fractional time shift that minimizes the magnitude of the equiripple error within a given frequency interval. The optimal parameters thus obtained can be used to generate the EWD equations, together with a variable fractional delay output, as described in an earlier paper. Finally, in contrast to the WLS procedure, which relies on a “good guess” of the weighting function, the MP optimization is straightforward.
Wavelet Denoising for TDR Dynamic Range Improvement
A technique is presented for removing large amounts of noise present in time-domain-reflectometry (TDR) waveforms to increase the dynamic range of TDR waveforms and TDR based s-parameter measurements.
A DSP Implementation of OFDM Acoustic Modem
●1 commentThe success of multicarrier modulation in the form of OFDM in radio channels illuminates a path one could take towards high-rate underwater acoustic communications, and recently there are intensive investigations on underwater OFDM. In this paper, we implement the acoustic OFDM transmitter and receiver design of [4, 5] on a TMS320C6713 DSP board. We analyze the workload and identify the most time-consuming operations. Based on the workload analysis, we tune the algorithms and optimize the code to substantially reduce the synchronization time to 0.2 seconds and the processing time of one OFDM block to 1.7 seconds on a DSP processor at 225 MHz. This experimentation provides guidelines on our future work to reduce the per-block processing time to be less than the block duration of 0.23 seconds for real time operations.
Introduction to Compressed Sensing
Chapter 1 of the book: "Compressed Sensing: Theory and Applications".
A pole-zero placement technique for designing second-order IIR parametric equalizer filters
A new procedure is presented for designing second-order parametric equalizer filters. In contrast to the traditional approach, in which the design is based on a bilinear transform of an analog filter, the presented procedure allows for designing the filter directly in the digital domain. A rather intuitive technique known as pole-zero placement, is treated here in a quantitative way. It is shown that by making some meaningful approximations, a set of relatively simple design equations can be obtained. Design examples of both notch and resonance filters are included to illustrate the performance of the proposed method, and to compare with state-of-the-art solutions.
BLAS Comparison on FPGA, CPU and GPU
High Performance Computing (HPC) or scientific codes are being executed across a wide variety of computing platforms from embedded processors to massively parallel GPUs. We present a comparison of the Basic Linear Algebra Subroutines (BLAS) using double-precision floating point on an FPGA, CPU and GPU. On the CPU and GPU, we utilize standard libraries on state-of-the-art devices. On the FPGA, we have developed parameterized modular implementations for the dot product and Gaxpy or matrix-vector multiplication. In order to obtain optimal performance for any aspect ratio of the matrices, we have designed a high-throughput accumulator to perform an efficient reduction of floating point values. To support scalability to large data-sets, we target the BEE3 FPGA platform. We use performance and energy efficiency as metrics to compare the different platforms. Results show that FPGAs offer comparable performance as well as 2.7 to 293 times better energy efficiency for the test cases that we implemented on all three platforms.
Bilinear Transformation Made Easy
●1 commentA formula is derived and demonstrated that is capable of directly generating digital filter coefficients from an analog filter prototype using the bilinear transformation. This formula obviates the need for any algebraic manipulation of the analog prototype filter and is ideal for use in embedded systems that must take in any general analog filter specification and dynamically generate digital filter coefficients directly usable in difference equations.
Correlation and Power Spectrum
In the signals and systems course and in the first course in digital signal processing, a signal is, most often, characterized by its amplitude spectrum in the frequency-domain and its amplitude profile in the time-domain. So much a student gets used to this type of characterization, that the student finds it difficult to appreciate, when encountered in the ensuing statistical signal processing course, the fact that a signal can also be characterized by its autocorrelation function in the time-domain and the corresponding power spectrum in the frequency-domain and that the amplitude characterization is not available. In this article, the characterization of a signal by its autocorrelation function in the time-domain and the corresponding power spectrum in the frequency-domain is described. Cross-correlation of two signals is also presented.
