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The DSP Decade
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20011 |
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Section : |
NATURAL SCIENCE
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| Issue
Date : |
8 / 1992 |
2,032 Words |
| Author
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Hank Hogan
Hank Hogan is a science writer in Austin, Texas. |
There is a revolution under way in electronics that promises to be as far-reaching as the one initiated by the microprocessors that are at the heart of each personal computer. This revolution is being brought on by digital signal processing (DSP) chips. Once exotic tools of the military, industry and scientific research facilities, DSP chips are now finding their way into a host of consumer applications, ranging from multimedia computers to cellular telephones to engine noise suppression to video conferencing and others. All of this means that DSP chips, once confined to specialized applications, will soon become commonplace.
"DSP chips are actually about 10 years behind general-purpose microprocessors in history. It's about the early eighties of general-purpose microprocessors in terms of their pervasiveness," comments Kun Lin, DSP marketing manager for Texas Instruments, the leading DSP chips manufacturer.
General-purpose microprocessors, such as the Intel 80286 or 80386, not only are the brains behind today's personal computers, they are also used a great deal in control functions. For example, in automobiles, general-purpose microprocessors today control engine air and fuel mix, among other things.
What is digital signal processing?
DSP chips are likely to become pervasive in the 1990s because they are so highly efficient at dealing with real world signals, such as video, audio, and pressure, in real time, or as they happen.
Most real world signals are continuous, and humans are adapted for perceiving a remarkably wide range and variety of them. In modern society, we receive signals from such electronic media as radio, television, video, and telephone. While these signals have been processed electronically, they come to us in a familiar form.
In conventional signal processing, the continuous signal is processed in a continuous (or analog) form through a complex array of electronic devices such as resistors and capacitors. For example, a tape recorder is an analog signal processing system in which the audio signal is manipulated through a complex array of electronic components, first as it is recorded on tape and then as it is played back.
Analog signal processing offers the highest possible speed, since the signal is processed directly.
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