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Statistics and Probability Are Used in Digital Signal Processing To Characterize Signals and Theprocesses

This document discusses key concepts in digital signal processing including: - Statistics and probability are used to characterize signals and the processes that generate them. They allow disruptive features like noise to be measured and classified. - Digital signal processing is often used to reduce interference, noise, and other undesirable components in acquired data. - The document introduces important concepts in statistics and probability for digital signal processing, with an emphasis on how they apply to analyzing acquired signals.

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33 views

Statistics and Probability Are Used in Digital Signal Processing To Characterize Signals and Theprocesses

This document discusses key concepts in digital signal processing including: - Statistics and probability are used to characterize signals and the processes that generate them. They allow disruptive features like noise to be measured and classified. - Digital signal processing is often used to reduce interference, noise, and other undesirable components in acquired data. - The document introduces important concepts in statistics and probability for digital signal processing, with an emphasis on how they apply to analyzing acquired signals.

Uploaded by

1985 production
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as RTF, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Statistics and

probability
are used in
Digital Signal
Processing to
characterize
signals and
theprocesses

that generate
them. For
example, a
primary use of
DSP is to
reduce
interference,
noise,and

other
undesirable
components
in acquired
data. These
may be an
inherent part
of the

signalbeing
measured,
arise from
imperfections
in the data
acquisition
system, or be
introduced as

anunavoidabl
e byproduct
of some DSP
operation.
Statistics and
probability
allow these
disruptivefeat

ures to be
measured
and
classified, the
first step in
developing
strategies to
remove

theoffending
components.
This chapter
introduces
the most
important
concepts in
statistics

andprobabilit
y, with
emphasis on
how they
apply to
acquired
signals.

Signal
and
Graph
Terminol
ogy
A

signal
is a
description of
how one
parameter is
related to
another
parameter.For

example, the
most common
type of signal
in analog
electronics is a
voltage
that varies
with

time
. Since both
parameters
can assume a
continuous
rangeof
values, we will
call this a

continuous
signal
. In
comparison,
passing
thissignal
through an
analog-to-

digital
converter
forces each of
the two
parametersto
be
quantized

. For instance,
imagine the
conversion
being done
with 12 bitsat
a sampling
rate of 1000
samples per

second. The
voltage is
curtailed to
4096(2
12

) possible
binary levels,
and the time
is only defined

at one
millisecondinc
rements.
Signals
formed from
parameters
that are
quantized in

this
mannerare
said to be
discrete
signals
or
digitized
signals

. For the most


part,continuo
us signals
exist in
nature, while
discrete
signals exist
inside

computers(alt
hough you
can find
exceptions to
both cases). It
is also
possible to
havesignals

where one
parameter is
continuous
and the other
is discrete.
Sincethese
mixed signals
are quite

uncommon,
they do not
have special
names givento
them, and the
nature of the
two
parameters

must be
explicitly
stated.Figure
2-1 shows
two discrete
signals, such
as might be
acquired with

adigital data
acquisition
system. The
vertical axis
may represent
voltage, light

The Scientist
and Engineer's
Guide to

Digital Signal
Processing
12
intensity,
sound
pressure, or
an infinite
number of
other

parameters.
Since wedon't
know what it
represents in
this particular
case, we will
give it the
genericlabel:

amplitude
. This
parameter is
also called
several other
names: the
y-axis
, the

dependent
variable
, the
range
, and the
ordinate
.The

horizontal
axis
represents the
other
parameter of
the signal,
going bysuch
names as: the

x-axis
, the
independen
t variable
, the
domain
, and the
abscissa

.
Time
is the most
common
parameter to
appear on the
horizontal
axisof

acquired
signals;
however,
other
parameters
are used in
specific
applications.F

or example, a
geophysicist
might acquire
measurement
s of rock
density
atequally
spaced

distances
along the
surface of the
earth. To keep
thingsgeneral,
we will simply
label the

horizontal
axis:
sample
number
. If thiswere a
continuous
signal,
another label

would have to
be used, such
as:
time
,
distance
,
x

, etc.The two
parameters
that form a
signal are
generally not
interchangeab
le.
Theparameter

on the y-axis
(the
dependent
variable) is
said to be a
function
of
theparameter

on the x-axis
(the
independent
variable). In
other words,
theindepende
nt variable
describes

how
or
when
each sample
is taken, while
thedependent
variable is the
actual

measurement.
Given a
specific value
on thex-axis,
we can always
find the
corresponding
value on the

y-axis, but
usuallynot the
other way
around.Pay
particular
attention to
the word:
domain

, a very widely
used term in
DSP.For
instance, a
signal that
uses time as
the
independent

variable (i.e.,
theparameter
on the
horizontal
axis), is said
to be in the
time domain

.
Anothercomm
on signal in
DSP uses
frequency as
the
independent
variable,

resulting inthe
term,
frequency
domain
. Likewise,
signals that
use distance
as

theindepende
nt parameter
are said to be
in the
spatial
domain
(distance is
ameasure of

space). The
type of
parameter on
the horizontal
axis
is
the domainof
the signal; it's

that simple.
What if the xaxis is labeled
with
somethingver
y generic,
such as

sample
number
? Authors
commonly
refer to these
signalsas
being in the
time

domain. This
is because
sampling at
equal
intervals
of time is the
most common
way of

obtaining
signals, and
they don't
have
anythingmore
specific to call
it.Although
the signals in

Fig. 2-1 are


discrete, they
are displayed
in this
figureas
continuous
lines. This is
because

there are too


many
samples to
bedistinguish
able if they
were
displayed as
individual

markers. In
graphs
thatportray
shorter
signals, say
less than 100
samples, the
individual

markers
areusually
shown.
Continuous
lines may or
may not be
drawn to
connect

themarkers,
depending on
how the
author wants
you to view
the data.
Forinstance, a
continuous

line could
imply what is
happening
between
samples,
orsimply be
an aid to help
the reader's

eye follow a
trend in noisy
data. Thepoint
is, examine
the labeling of
the horizontal
axis to find if
you are

workingwith a
discrete or
continuous
signal. Don't
rely on an
illustrator's
ability todraw

dots.The
variable,
N

, is widely
used in DSP
to represent
the total
number
of samples in

a signal. For
example, for
the signals in
Fig. 2-1. To

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