Signal processing is a wide engineering discipline that is concerned with extracting, manipulating, and storing information embedded in complex signals and images. Methods of signal processing include: data compression; analog-to-digital conversion; signal and image reconstruction/restoration; adaptive filtering; distributed sensing and processing; and automated pattern analysis. From the early days of the fast fourier transform (FFT) to today's ubiquitous MP3/JPEG/MPEG compression algorithms, signal processing has driven many of the products and devices that have benefited society. Examples include: 3D medical image scanners (algorithms for cardiac imaging and multi-modality image registration); digital audio (.mp3 players and adaptive noise cancelation headphones); global positioning (GPS and location-aware cell-phones); intelligent automotive sensors (airbag sensors and collision warning systems); multimedia devices (PDA's and smart phones); and information forensics (Internet monitoring and automatic speaker identification).
