Signal Processing and Control Skills

Full course description

Signal processing is at the heart of groundbreaking technologies like NASA’s communication with distant space probes and the seamless streaming of video across the internet. When combined with control systems, it powers innovations like self-driving cars, smart factories, and remote monitoring of renewable energy systems. In this course, you’ll dive into how signal processing and control systems work together to shape the technologies that drive a sustainable, circular economy.

Over six weeks, you’ll explore:

1. The fundamentals of understanding and interpreting signals
2. Waves, harmonics, and their role in communication
3. The Fourier transform and its applications in audio processing
4. Convolutions in image processing
5. Analyzing scientific signals for real-world applications
6. Signal transmission and feedback loops in electronic control systems

Each topic is reinforced through hands-on assignments where you will collect, process, analyze, and visualize datasets using programming languages like Python. MATLAB, R, and Julia are also allowed for these assignments. You'll gain practical skills by applying these algorithms to audio, image, and scientific data.

In the final project, you’ll work in teams to design a new app, service, or device that applies signal processing or control systems to advance a circular economy. Your group will pitch this innovative project at the course’s conclusion.