School of Engineering

SIGNALS AND SYSTEMS 15EC210

Unit 1
Lecture 1: Course Introduction

Signal processing plays an extremely important and continually growing role in a wide variety of
engineering systems. Furthermore, technology and algorithms for signal processing continue to
develop rapidly. While only a short time ago signal processing systems were predominantly analog,
integrated circuit technology has made digital signal processing often preferable and more cost-
effective.
This course is an introduction to the basic concepts and theory of analog and digital signal processing.
The background assumed is calculus, experience in manipulating complex numbers, and some
exposure to differential equations. Prior exposure to the fundamentals of circuits for electrical
engineers or fundamentals of dynamics for mechanical engineers is helpful but not essential.
Both for pedagogical reasons and as a reflection of the nature of modern signal processing systems,
the concepts associated with continuous-time and with discrete-time signals and systems are treated
together in a closely coordinated way. Among other things, this approach emphasizes both the
similarities and the differences in the two classes of systems. Developing this video course has been
an extremely enjoyable and rewarding experience. I hope that you also find it enjoyable, stimulating,
and rewarding.

Dept of ECE, DSU

 School of Engineering

SIGNALS AND SYSTEMS 15EC210

How to Approach This Course

I recommend that after viewing the lecture, each individual read carefully the appropriate section of
the text given as Suggested Reading at the end of each lecture handout and in the Readings section.
Finally, and perhaps most important, you should work through the problems in
the Assignments section.

It is hard to overemphasize the fact that this is the part of the course in which the learning really takes
place and consequently is the most important. For each lecture there are recommended and optional
problems.

The recommended problems should really be thought of as "required," at the very least in the sense
that they are essential for a thorough understanding of the material. You should not proceed beyond
any lecture until you feel comfortable with all of its recommended problems.

The optional problems are generally more difficult and sometimes cover points that are either deeper
or not essential.

Solutions are provided for all of the problems, but they should be used with caution. If you are having
difficulty with a problem, it is far better to look for guidance from a colleague than from the solution
provided.

Furthermore, the solution given may approach the problem from a totally different perspective than
you are using. It is generally best to use the solution provided to confirm your answer or as a last
resort, when you are really about to give up and no other help is available.

Dept of ECE, DSU

 School of Engineering

SIGNALS AND SYSTEMS 15EC210

What is Signal ?

Examples of signals include :

1. A voltage signal: voltage across two points varying as a function of time.
2. A force pattern: force varying as a function of 2-dimensional space.
3. A photograph: color and intensity as a function of 2-dimensional space.
4. A video signal: color and intensity as a function of 2-dimensional space and time.
More eg:
Electrical signals --- voltages and currents in a circuit
Acoustic signals --- audio or speech signals (analog or digital)
Video signals --- intensity variations in an image (e.g. a CAT scan)
Biological signals --- sequence of bases in a gene
Noise: unwanted signal

Analog Signals
Human Voice best example
Ear recognises sounds 20KHz or less
AM Radio 535KHz to 1605KHz
FM Radio 88MHz to 108MHz
Digital signals
Represented by Square Wave
All data represented by binary values
Single Binary Digit Bit
Transmission of contiguous group of bits is a bit stream
Not all decimal values can be represented by binary

A Signal
A signal is a function of one or more variables, which conveys information on the nature of
some physical phenomena.
Examples
f(t) : a voice signal, a music signal
f(x,y) : an image signal, a picture

Dept of ECE, DSU

 School of Engineering

SIGNALS AND SYSTEMS 15EC210

f(x,y,t) : a video signal

xn : a sequence of data ( n: integer )
bn : a bit stream ( b:1 or 0 )
continuous-time, discrete-time
analog, digital
Human Perceptible/Machine Processed

Activity

System is an assemblage of entities/objects, real or abstract, comprising a whole with each

every component/element interacting or related to another one.
Systems process input signals to produce output signals

`
Examples
i. Motion, sound, picture, video, traffic light
ii. Natural system (ecosystem), human-made system (machines, computer storage
system), abstract system (traffic, computer programs), descriptive system (plans)

Dept of ECE, DSU

 School of Engineering

SIGNALS AND SYSTEMS 15EC210

What are the name for various band of frequencies?

1PetaHz

Draw the Electromagnetic spectrum?

Dept of ECE, DSU