The aims of this chapter are to explain the meaning and benefts of digital signal processing(DSP),to introduce basic DSP operations on which much of DSP is founded, and to make the reader aware of the wide range of application areas for DSP. Specific real-world application examples are presented, drawn from areas with which most readers can relate.
1.1 Digital signal processing and its benefts
By a signal we mean any variable that carries or contains some kind of information that can ,for example, be conveyed, displayed or manipulated. Examples of the types of signals of particular interest are
·speech, which we encounter for example in telephony, radio and everyday life,
·biomedical signals, such as the electroencephalogram(brain signals),
·sound and music, such as reproduced by the compact disc player,
·video and image, which most people watch on the television, and
·radar signals, which are used to determine the range and bearing of distant targets.