Other Projects

Other design projects are briefly described below.

• Audio harmonizer: One student investigated algorithms for shifting the frequency of an audio signal up or down by an octave while preserving the duration of the signal. Algorithms were implemented and tested in Matlab and Simulink.
• Voice processing: Groups of students developed systems for distinguishing between the words ON and OFF, and for distinguishing between male and female voices. The algorithms were developed by students using linear techniques based on spectral and correlation analysis. These simple methods were not robust across a group of speakers, so the project illustrated some of the difficulties of automatic speech recognition.
• Modulation and demodulation: A group of three students developed a system that amplitude modulates a desired signal, transmits it over a channel along with other carrier frequencies, and then demodulates the desired signal.
• Signal averaged electrocardiography (EKG): A group of students interested in biomedical applications investigated digital filtering in signal averaged EKG. Actual EKG signals were downloaded from the Internet and processed in Simulink to illustrate the ideas.
• Acoustic echo processing: One student with an interest in sailing investigated methods for imaging the ocean floor. Simulations were developed in Simulink.
• Phase-locked loop (PLL) for carrier synchronization: This project was performed in the communication systems elective course. The objective was to design and simulate the PLL in Simulink, then implement it in real-time on the dSPACE hardware.