Fundamentals of Signals and Systems

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2009:

431-201 Engineering Analysis A or equivalent and 431-210 Electrical Circuits 2

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This subject introduces students to the fundamental principles of signals and systems. Signals are modelled as functions on a set. Examples include continuous time signals (audio, radio, voltages), discrete time signals (digital audio, synchronous circuits), images (discrete and continuous), discrete event signals, and sequences. Systems are modelled as mappings on signals. The notion of state is discussed in a general way. State machines are studied using block diagrams (serial, parallel and feedback compositions). Difference and differential equations are considered as models for linear, time-ivariant (LTI) systems, and these systems are first investigaged via state-space representations, impulse response and convolution. Frequency domain models for signals and frequency response for systems are then investigated, covering topics such as Fourier representations of periodic signals, continuous-time and discrete-time Fourier transforms, frequency response, filtering, transfer functions, Z-transforms, Laplace transforms, poles and zeros, Bode plots, and the relationship to state-space representations. Concepts will be illustrated by examples from control theory, signal processing and tele­communications. Students will learn how to represent and analyse signals and systems with specific properties using the MATLAB software environment. This subject provides the fundamentals for all later year signal processing, control and communications subjects.

Formally supervised written examination 3-hours (60%) (end of semester); written class test 1-hour (10%) (mid-semester); written assignments (10%) (4 assignments throughout semester); laboratory reports (20%) (four 3-hour laboratory classes throughout the semester.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Above and beyond the technical knowledge necessary for successful completion of this subject, many generic skills will be required. On completion of this subject, the students should have developed:

• a high level of problem solving and analytical skills;

• a capacity to tackle unfamiliar problems, including problem identification, formulation and solution;

• an ability to plan work and be efficient in time management;

• hands-on skills through practical and software laboratory experiments;

• a heightened sense of intellectual curiosity and creativity;

• an ability to apply knowledge of basic science and engineering fundamentals;

• an ability to communicate effectively, not only with engineers but also with the community at large;

• an ability to utilise a systems approach to design and operational performance;

• an expectation of the need to undertake lifelong learning, and a capacity to do so;

• a capacity for independent critical thought, rational inquiry and self-directed learning;

• respect for truth and intellectual integrity, and for the ethics of scholarship