What is really a signal?
• Example is Black and White TV
• SIGNAL
> any physical quantity that varies with time,
space or any other independent variable or variables
> mathematically described as a function of
one or more independent variables
Basic Elements of a Digital Processing System
• Most of the Signals in Science and Engineering are
Analog and can be processed directly by appropriate
Analog Systems
> Examples are Filters and Frequency
Analyzers
Basic Elements of a Digital Processing System
-Interface Between the Analog Signal and the Digital
Processor is needed for DSP
Advantages of Digital Signal Processing of an Analog
Signal
• Digital programmable system allows flexibility in
reconfiguring the digital signal processing operations
by changing the program
> Analog system reconfiguration typically
involved HW changes including testing and validations
• Accuracy considerations. Tolerances on analog
components on a system makes it difficult for system
designer to control
> Imagine: 100K ohm 5% Tolerance + 10K 5%
Tolerance + 1K 5% Tolerance
• Digital Signals can be easily stored on different
magnetic media (tape/disk) without deterioration and
loss of fidelity beyond what is introduced by ADC/DAC
conversion
• On some case, digital signal processing is Cheaper
> Digital Hardware is cheaper because of its
flexibility to changes – adaptability
Digital Signal Processing is Widely Used due to its
advantages
• Speech Processing
• Telephone Channels
• Image Processing
• Transmissions
• Seismology
• Oil Explorations
• Detection of signals from outer space
Classifications of Signals
Multi-channel Signals
• Signals Generated from Multiple
Sources or Multiple Sensors
• Examples is ECG (Electrocardiograms)
> 3 leads or 12 leads
Multi-dimensional Signals
• Signals Generated from Multiple Independent
Variables
> Intensity and Brightness as a function of
Time
Multi-channel and Multi-dimensional Signal
• Colored TV is considered as 3-channel and 3
dimension Signal
• Signal is the brightness of Red, Green, and Blue as a
function of time
Continuous Time Signals
• “Analog Signals”
• Defined for every single value of time
• Take values on continuous interval
Discrete Time Signals
• Defined on certain specific values of time
• Not required, but in practice, are done equidistant
Continuous Valued Signals
• Signal takes all the possible values on the infinite or
finite range
Discrete Valued Signals
• “Digital Signal”
• Signal takes values from a finite set of possible
values
Deterministic Signals
• Can be described by explicit mathematical
expression, table of data, well-defined rule
• All values of signal (past, present, future) are known
precisely, without uncertainty
Random Signals
• Cannot be described by any reasonable degree of
accuracy by explicit mathematical formulas, or
too complicated for any practical use
DSP Application in the Real World
• Two Band Digital Crossover
• Elimination of 60Hz Interference on ECG
• Simplified Data Compressor
• Simplified Data Expander (decompressor)
• Simplified encoder of the CD recording system
• Simplified decoder of the CD recording system
Summary
• Analog Signal
> Continuous signal in both Time and
Amplitude
> Current, Voltage, Temperature, Pressure,
Light Intensity, and so on.
• Digital signal
> Contains the digital values converted from
the analog signal at the specified time instants
 > Can be manipulated using arithmetic. Elementary Discrete Signal
Manipulations include digital filtering, and the likes
> Can be converted back to an analog signal
by sending the digital values to DAC to produce the
corresponding voltage levels and applying a smooth
filter (reconstruction filter) to the DAC voltage steps.
• Applications of Digital Signal Processing
24
> digital speech and audio
> digital and cellular telephones
> automobile controls
> vibration signal analysis
> communications
> biomedical imaging
> image/video processing, and multimedia

Discrete Time Signals

• A discrete-time signal is a indexed sequence of real
or complex numbers
• Function of an integer-valued variable, n, that is
denoted by x(n)
• Often derived by sampling a continuous-time signal
with an ADC
> Sample for a continuous-time signal x(t) that
is sampled at a rate of Fs = l/Ts samples per second
produces the sampled signal x(n), which is related to
xa(t) as follows

Other Representations of Discrete Time Signals

 Sampling
• Used to take an Analog Signal and convert to a
Digital Signal
• Analog signal measures the signal at rapid intervals
using an ADC
• Output is proportional to the amplitude of the
Analog signal at that instant

-Slow Moving Signal is represented accurately

-Faster Moving Signal is not represented accurately

Aliasing
• Sampled version actually appears to be a lower
frequency signal than the actual signal
• Thus we need to quantify how fast we should
sample

Signal Manipulation Discrete Time Signal

Quantization
• Error will always be 1/128 or 0.0087125
• Changes depending on exact signal value
(fluctuating)
• Called Quantization Noise

Basic Operations on Signal Discrete Time Signal

Signal Analysis Sampling, Aliasing and Quantization Discrete Time Systems

• A device or algorithm that operates on a discrete • Law of Additivity
time signal, called “input” or “excitation” to produce • Law of Homogeneity
another discrete time signal called the “output” or
“response” of the system
Input-Output Description of Systems
• Defines the relationship between the Input Signal
and the Output Signals

Block Diagram Representation of Discrete Time

Systems
• Adder
> Addition of 2 signal sequences to form
another (the sum) sequence
> Memoryless Operation – Does not need to
store one of the sequence

• Constant Multiplier
> Applying a scale factor to input to form another (the
product) sequence
> Multiplication Operation

• Signal Multiplier
> Multiplication of 2 signal sequences to form another
(the product) sequence

• Unit Delay Element

> Special system that delays the signal passing
through by 1 sample
> Stores the same x(n-1) at memory at time n-
1, and recalled at time n
> Requires memory

• Unit Advance Element

> Moves the input x(n) ahead by one sample
in time to yield x(n+1)

Classification of Discrete Time Systems

Test Linear Systems – The Law of Superposition