ECE445S Real-Time Digital Signal Processing Laboratory - Related Courses

In ECE445S, students apply critical thinking to bridge theory and implementation. Using mathematical and application theory as well as implementation constraints, they derive signal processing algorithms, simulate them in MATLAB, map simulations into C code on an embedded ARM-based system, and validate implementations using rack equipment. In this design flow, they quantify design tradeoffs in signal quality vs. run-time implementation complexity for various algorithms and use lessons learned in the simulation and implementation phases to refine the algorithm and their knowledge of implementation constraints for use in future algorithms. Application spaces include audio, communication, image processing, and biomedical systems.

Related Real-Time Embedded Systems Courses

Taking any of the following electives will greatly improve your understanding of the design and implementation of embedded systems:

ECE445L Embedded Systems Design Laboratory
computer architecture, interfacing, embedded software, and real-time control
ECE445M Embedded and Real-Time Systems Laboratory
computer architecture, real-time operating systems, and codesign of embedded software, digital hardware, and analog electronics
ECE360C Algorithms
efficient data structures and algorithms, and algorithm analysis
ECE460R Introduction to VLSI Design
synthesis from a logic specification to NAND/NOR gates to physical layout

In embedded real-time systems, ECE445L and ECE445M complement ECE445S. Students in all three courses program an embedded ARM processor in C, albeit using different ARM boards and integrated development environments. ECE445L and ECE445M have labs that involve analog circuit design, digital circuit design, ARM processors and sensors and actuators. ECE445L and ECE445M cover for a wide variety of applications, including controls, networking, and power systems. Moreover, ECE445M covers real-time operating systems. In ECE445S, the embedded implementations are for audio and communications applications.

Related Signal Processing and Communication System Courses

ECE445S and ECE351M Digital Signal Processing can be taken in any order or at the same time. They have about 20% overlap, and are complementary in depth.

ECE445S covers discrete-time signal processing concepts and translating them into real-time software. Objectives are
- Build intuition for signal processing concepts
- Quantify design tradeoffs in signal quality vs. run-time implementation complexity
The design flow is to combine mathematical theory and application theory into algorithms, algorithms into MATLAB simulations, and MATLAB simulations into embedded real-time software.
ECE351M "provides a thorough treatment of DSP including the fundamental theorems and properties of discrete-time linear systems, filtering, sampling, and discrete-time Fourier analysis. Furthermore, it explores connections between DSP techniques and methods for learning from data, and introduces fundamental stochastic signal processing concepts. The emphasis in the class will be on algorithms, their derivations, and their applications." [Fall 2021 EE51M Syllabus] Programming is in Python.

Prof. Evans and Prof. Vikalo have been coordinating content in ECE445S and ECE351M, respectively, to make sure that each course goes into depth in different topics. Here are two examples:

Filters. ECE445S goes deep into the design, simulation, application, and real-time implementation of digital finite impulse response (FIR) filters and infinite impulse response (IIR) filters. The design is entirely in the discrete-time domain. ECE351M designs digital filters based on well-known continuous-time filters
FFTs and Spectrograms. Another example is that ECE445S uses the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) and its fast Fourier transform (FFT) implementation, whereas ECE351M derives the DFT from the discrete-time Fourier transform as well as the FFT algorithm. ECE445S also uses the DFT for time-frequency analysis using spectrograms, whereas ECE351M does not cover time-frequency analysis.
Applications. ECE351M uses speech and audio processing to motivate topics, but students do not use speech or audio processing in assignments. In ECE445S, students design, simulate, and implement in real-time audio and communication systems. They also design filters for a biomedical system on homework and learn from three in-lecture demos on image processing.

Another related elective is ECE360K Digital Communications. The pre-requisite for ECE360K is ECE445S or ECE351M. In fact, ECE360K picks up where ECE445S leaves off. ECE360K provides a "strong foundation for further study, research and industry practice in the area of communication systems. The main objective of the course is to learn the engineering principles and analytical techniques for the design of reliable high-speed digital communication systems. In particular, the focus of this class is the reliable transmission and reception of finite-alphabet (i.e. digital) symbols over dispersive linear time-invariant (LTI) channels in the presence of noise. In particular we consider baseband and passband modulation and demodulation in additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), channel equalization, multicarrier modulation (OFDM), and an introduction to information theory and channel coding." [Spring 2022 EE360K Course Syllabus]

Last updated 06/07/22. Send comments to (Mailbox)

bevans@ece.utexas.edu