Digital Signal Processing In Electrical Engineering Technology Programs
Massoud Moussavi
Johnson & Wales University, School of Technology
Providence, R.I. 02903
Abstract: Digital Signal Processing (DSP) is one of
the most demanding areas in today’s job market for
electronic engineering graduates. Because of the
need for this particular area, if not all but, most
electrical/electronic engineering departments have
already integrated this popular subject in their
curriculum. To understand DSP, a good knowledge
of advanced mathematics is required. This, in turn,
has created problems for Electrical Engineering
Technology (EET) departments to successfully
implemented DSP into their program, since they do
not require advance mathematics. For the last two
years, many EET faculties have tried to respond to
this problem and have sought help from their
colleagues in other institutions through ET listserv.
This paper intends to show my experience of
teaching DSP to EET students.
Background:
Like any other applied science, engineering
operations follow mathematical laws and reasoning.
It is much easier to express ideas and relationships in
symbols, and manipulate the symbols according to
established mathematical procedures, and finally to
come up with a set of mathematical expressions
which can be converted back to ideas and
recommendations. To possess all these skills, a
successful engineer needs to have a deep
understanding of high level mathematics and be able
to utilize this understanding in his or her particular
field. Obviously, the necessary degree of
comprehending mathematics varies from one
discipline of engineering to another. For example,
electronic and mechanical engineers need a higher
knowledge level of mathematics than civil or
industrial engineers. This directly stems from the
nature of their fields.
On the other hand, in the fields of engineering
technology, technical knowledge is more important
than theoretical knowledge. Engineering
technologists who work in these fields are more
interested in the "how" of a technological
phenomenon rather than the "why.” They are
graduates of technical institutes and "the businesses of
manufacturing, testing, inspection, quality control,
plant operation, and the like more often appeal to"
them [1]. These domains of technical professions are
not influenced by mathematical laws as much as other
fields such as development and design. Therefore,
engineering technologists need to know just enough
mathematics to understand rather than develop some
technological phenomena.
DSP in an EET programs. Based on the
above brief description of the mathematical
dependency of engineering and engineering
technology, it seems EET departments are faced with
a contradiction when they try to add DSP in their
curriculum. On one hand they have to respond to the
industry and students’ needs and offer such courses.
On the other hand, they do not offer those
mathematics which are required to understand fully
the DSP course. The following approach may resolve
such a contradiction.
A typical DSP course begins with introduction
to "Discrete-time signals and system" and continues
in the following fashion:
1. Time-domain representations.
2. Frequency-domain representations and
Laplace transform.
3. Fourier transforms of analog and digital
signals and their relations.
4. Analysis of discrete-time systems: linear
systems, FIR and IIR systems and their
frequency and impulse responses, difference
equations.
5. Z-transform and its properties.
6. Realization of digital systems: direct,
cascaded, parallel, and ladder forms.
7. Digital filter design.
8. Fast Fourier-transform algorithms.
Like many of my colleagues, I adopted the
above format in the first two trimesters that I taught
DSP. In both cases, I found out it is too difficult to
present a meaningful lecture if I do not go deeply into
the mathematics. But when I applied mathematics to
the course, most students could not digest the
lectures because of the lack of knowledge in advanced
mathematics. That was not the only problem which I
experienced through those two trimesters. Insufficient
time was the other major problem that only allowed
me to cover two thirds of the course; mainly because
I spent too much time teaching mathematics instead
of DSP. In order to make sure the same mistakes
weren’t made, I examined many different textbooks
and developed a few strategies. After review and re-
review of all of them, I adopted the following steps:
1. Define and describe passive filters.
2. Take a low pass filter and show how one
can find the transfer function in frequency
domain without emphasizing too much on
Laplace transform (may use only the Laplace
transform table).
H(s) = (1/RC) / [s + (1/RC)] or
H(s) = [1 / (s + 1)] for RC = 1 unit. [1]
3. Teach basic z-transform and inverse z-
transform. Try to use only the z-transform
table and do some problems which are
related to DSP.
4. Teach the methods of obtaining a digital
filter from analog filter using either
"Impulse-Invariant" or "Bilinear"
transformations.
5. Convert H(s) to H(z) by applying step
four.
H(z) = 1 / [1- exp(-T) / z] = Y(z) / X(z) [2]
6. Teach realization by using H(z) in
equation [2]. For this particular filter, direct
realization is a good example. For other
types of realization (cascaded, parallel, and
ladder) a higher order filter is needed.
7. Teach how to obtain a difference equation
of above filter by finding first Y(z) in term of
X(z) by a simple cross multiplication of
equation [2] and using inverse z-transform.
y(n) = exp(-T) y(n-1) + x(n)[3]
8. Teach linear systems, time-invariant
systems, FIR and IIR systems, stability,
and the impulse, step, ramps responses by
referring to equation [3].
9. Teach sampling and analog-to-digital
conversion, linear time-invariant (LTI),
digital LTI processors, and digital
convolution. Apply these concepts to the
chosen example.
10. Teach the higher order filters and apply
all learned concepts in pervious steps and let
the students come up with a
completed solution.
It will be useful to integrate MATLAB into the
course and give a project (design a filter, second or
higher order with a particular digital processor) to the
students and allow them to solve the solution by
applying the above ten steps, describing fully each
step, and showing all obtained results from
MATLAB.
These ten steps practical approach can be taught
in a ten to twelve week semester and I found students
are more satisfied and learn more through this
approach than others, that I have previously used.
They see the direct connection between theory and
practice without too much emphasis on mathematic.
Conclusion:
Electrical Engineering Technology Departments may
face difficulty when they try to offer Digital Signal
Processing. On one hand, they have to offer this
course to satisfy both industry and students. On the
other hand, understanding DSP requires advanced
mathematics which are not part of ET programs. To
resolve this problem, EET faculty teach this course
beginning with the most popular application of DSP,
a digital filter. Then, teach students how to find the
transfer function of a basic passive low-pass filter and
convert it in discrete domain (using only Laplace and
z transform tables). All other topics of DSP could be
covered through a complete solution of a digital filter
design without teaching mathematics extensively.
Reference.
[1]. National Research Council, “Engineering
Education and Practice in the United States,
Engineering Technology Education”, National
Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1985, p.12.