Signals and Systems Course # EE 2235

Lecture # 1 Topic: Signals

Text Books

– Signals and Systems

• Alan V. Oppenheim, Alan S. Willsky, S. Hamid Nawab, Prentice Hall Ltd.
Second edition
– Signals and Systems
• Simon Haykin, Barry Van Veen, John Wiley & Sons Inc.
– Signals and Systems
• M. J. Roberts, McGraw-Hill Edition
– Analysis of Linear Systems
• David K. Cheng, Narosa Publishing House

What is a signal?

• A signal is a varying quantity whose value can be measured and which conveys information
• Example: temperature
– It can vary over time
– We can measure it using a thermometer
– It conveys information: knowing the temperature outside will inform our decision as
to which clothes to wear
• In the digital signal processing system, the signal is represented as a sequence of numbers
either on a computer or in digital hardware
• Example:
– we could store the temperature at various times of the day as a sequence of numbers
in an array on a computer: each reading might be a temperature reading in Celsius
Examples of Signals

• Signals are functions of one or more variables (independent variables) that carry/convey
information.
• For example:
– Electrical signals - voltages and currents in a circuit, power
– Thermal signals – temperature
– Light signals – light intensity,
– Mechanical signals – force, torque, pressure
– Acoustic signals ---audio or speech signals (analog or digital) such as human voice, a
dog’s bark, bird’s song,
– Video signals ---intensity variations in an image (e.g. a CAT scan, MRI data)
– Biological signals ---sequence of bases in a gene
– Human Body Signal – ECG, EMG, EOG; Brain signal - EEG signal
– Stock market data

The domain of a Signal

• The domain is a very widely used term in DSP.

– For instance, a signal that uses time as the independent variable (i.e., the parameter on
the horizontal axis), is said to be in the time domain
– Another common signal in DSP uses frequency as the independent variable, resulting
in the term, frequency domain.

Edited: Dr. Mohiuddin Ahmad EE 2235: Signals and Systems, Dept. of EEE, KUET
 – Likewise, signals that use distance as the independent parameter are said to be in the
spatial domain (distance is a measure of space). The type of parameter on the
horizontal axis is the domain of the signal; it's that simple. What if the x-axis is
labeled with something very generic, such as sample number? Authors commonly
refer to these signals as 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
anything more specific to call it.

Domain and range of a signal

• Temperature is a function of single real-valued variable, T=f(t)

• We say that domain of the signal is one-dimensional

• Some signals are functions of more than one variable

• Example: black and white photograph – can be regarded as a signal
– Brightness u of a point on the photograph is a function of two variables, the x and y
coordinates of the point on the photograph
– The domain of the signal is two-dimensional (fig. 2)
– The range of the signal is one-dimensional

Fig. 2 Fig. 3

• Example: color photograph – can be regarded as a signal

– The color of a point on the photograph can be expressed as three real-numbers,
especially giving the amount of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) that go to make up
the color
– In this case, we could say that the range of the signal is three-dimensional and the
domain is two-dimensional (Fig. 3)

• Example: color movie – can be regarded as a signal

– The color of a point on the screen with given x and y coordinates can be expressed as
three real numbers for the amounts of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) that go to
make up the color
– The picture also changes with time, which adds an extra dimension to the domain of
the signal
– In total, we, therefore, have three dimensions in the domain (x, y, and time) and three
in the range (red, green, and blue)
Edited: Dr. Mohiuddin Ahmad EE 2235: Signals and Systems, Dept. of EEE, KUET
The dependent variable of a signal

• The dependent variable of a signal

– Examples: Specific: voltage, light intensity, sound pressure, or an infinite number of
other parameters
– Generic label: amplitude
• Another name of the Dependent variable
– vertical axis
– y-axis,
– range, and
– ordinate

Independent variable of a signal

• The independent variable of a signal

– Most common parameter: Time
– Distance
– x
– Number
– Generic name: sample number
• Another name of the independent variable
– horizontal axis
– x-axis,
– the domain, and
– the abscissa

Dependent and independent variable of a signal

• Dependent variables
– Can be continuous
• Speech, current, voltage, temperature, audio
– Can be discrete
• DNA base sequence
• Digital image pixels
– Can be 1-D (speech signal), 2-D (image signal), ••• N-D
• Independent variable
– Single (1-D) independent variable which we call" time”.
– Continuous-Time (CT) signals: x(t), t—continuous values
– Discrete-Time (DT) signals: x[n], n—integer values only

Relation between variables

• The two parameters that form a signal are generally not interchangeable.
• The parameter on the y-axis (the dependent variable) is said to be a function of the parameter
on the x-axis (the independent variable).
• In other words, the independent variable describes how or when each sample is taken, while
the dependent variable is the actual measurement.
• Given a specific value on the x-axis, we can always find the corresponding value on the y-
axis, but usually not the other way around.

Edited: Dr. Mohiuddin Ahmad EE 2235: Signals and Systems, Dept. of EEE, KUET
Converting a signal from one form to another

• A device that converts a signal from one form to another is called a transducer
• Example: Loudspeaker, microphone

• Variation of air-pressure is a real-valued function of time

What is Noise? How can noise be represented?

• Noise is a random signal, is like a signal in that it is a time-varying physical phenomenon, but
unlike a signal, it usually does not carry useful information and is almost considered
undesirable

• Noise Representation: Noise can be represented as a function of time like a signal

The function of time t : n(t )  a(t )[cos(2ft  (t ))];
a(t) and Θ(t) are time-variant amplitude and phase of the noise; Θ(t)Є [- π, π]

What do you mean by signal processing task? Give some examples.

• Modify the amount of bass and treble in an audio signal

• Analyze the image to determine what object s are present in it
• Compute seasonally adjusted temperature values
• Make a photograph sharper and increase its contrast
• Measure the pitch of a musical instrument
• Compression of data for transmitting and store

Analog vs. digital signal/data

• Data can be analog or digital. The term analog data refers to information that is continuous;
digital data refers to information that has discrete states. Analog data take on continuous
values. Digital data take on discrete values.
• Analog and Digital data
 Data can be analog or digital.
 Analog data are continuous and take continuous values.
 Digital data have discrete states and take discrete values.
 Analog and Digital Signal
• Signals can be analog or digital.
• Analog signals can have an infinite number of values in a range.
• Digital signals can have only a limited number of values

Sample questions
• Q1. In this study, we used outside temperature as an example of a signal, considering it only
as a function of time. A weather forecast, however, will talk about temperature not only as a
function of time but as a function of location in the country: how many dimensions does the
domain of this signal have? An aircraft pilot whose hobby is signal processing thinks of the
outside temperature as a signal. How many dimensions would you imagine he thinks its
domain has?
• Q2. Consider a black-and-white movie as a signal. How many dimensions do its domain and
range have?

Edited: Dr. Mohiuddin Ahmad EE 2235: Signals and Systems, Dept. of EEE, KUET