The Breadth and Depth of DSP

Digital Signal Processing is one of the most powerful technologies that will shape science and
engineering in the twenty-first century. Revolutionary changes have already been made in a broad
range of fields: communications, medical imaging, radar & sonar, high fidelity music
reproduction, and oil prospecting, to name just a few. Each of these areas has developed a deep
DSP technology, with its own algorithms, mathematics, and specialized techniques. This
combination of breath and depth makes it impossible for any one individual to master all of the
DSP technology that has been developed. DSP education involves two tasks: learning general
concepts that apply to the field as a whole, and learning specialized techniques for your particular
area of interest. This chapter starts our journey into the world of Digital Signal Processing by
describing the dramatic effect that DSP has made in several diverse fields. The revolution has
begun.
CHAPTER
The Breadth and Depth of DSP
1

Digital Signal Processing is one of the most powerful technologies that will shape science and
engineering in the twenty-first century. Revolutionary changes have already been made in a broad
range of fields: communications, medical imaging, radar & sonar, high fidelity music
reproduction, and oil prospecting, to name just a few. Each of these areas has developed a deep
DSP technology, with its own algorithms, mathematics, and specialized techniques. This
combination of breath and depth makes it impossible for any one individual to master all of the
DSP technology that has been developed. DSP education involves two tasks: learning general
concepts that apply to the field as a whole, and learning specialized technique