The collision of probability, Fourier analysis, and communication-signal models.
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Let’s return to the probability section of the Signal Processing ToolKit posts with a look at the characteristic function, which is the Fourier transform of the probability density function. We will see it has a deep connection to the central mathematical entities of CSP, which are moments and cumulants.
Continue reading “SPTK: The Characteristic Function”Some examples of random variables encountered in communication systems, channels, and mathematical models.
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In this Signal Processing ToolKit post, we continue our exploration of random variables. Here we look at specific examples of random variables, which means that we focus on concrete well-defined cumulative distribution functions (CDFs) and probability density functions (PDFs). Along the way, we show how to use some of MATLAB’s many random-number generators, which are functions that produce one or more instances of a random variable with a specified PDF.
Continue reading “SPTK: Examples of Random Variables in Communication-Signal Contexts”Our toolkit expands to include basic probability theory.
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In this Signal Processing ToolKit post, we examine the concept of a random variable.
Continue reading “SPTK: Random Variables”The Machine Learners think that their “feature engineering” (rooting around in voluminous data) is the same as “features” in mathematically derived signal-processing algorithms. I take a lighthearted look.
One of the things the machine learners never tire of saying is that their neural-network approach to classification is superior to previous methods because, in part, those older methods use hand-crafted features. They put it in different ways, but somewhere in the introductory section of a machine-learning modulation-recognition paper (ML/MR), you’ll likely see the claim. You can look through the ML/MR papers I’ve cited in The Literature ([R133]-[R146]) if you are curious, but I’ll extract a couple here just to illustrate the idea.
Continue reading “Are Probability Density Functions “Engineered” or “Hand-Crafted” Features?”