Ted Young and Ronald Ligteringen release interactive e-book

Emeritus professor Ted Young and Ing. Ronald Ligteringen of the department of Imaging Physics have released an interactive e-book on stochastic signal processing. It is aimed at third-year and fourth-year students, as well as graduate students who have previously followed introductory courses in signal processing and probability theory.

Speech, music, seismic vibrations, oil prices, and climate measurements are all examples of stochastic (random) signals. In their introductory textbook,  Ted Young and Ronald Ligteringen explain techniques that can be used to extract useful information from such signals. They present case studies ranging from music to the motion of individual biomolecules.

The use of electronic publishing made it possible for Young and Ligteringen to turn a static medium into a dynamic one containing animations, film and sound clips, and - most importantly - interactive learning. The microphone, camera, and computational power in modern tablets and smartphones allow students to perform laboratory experiments within the textbook. “As far as we know, this app is the first college-level textbook that includes theory, case studies, homework problems, and interactive laboratory experiments”, said Young.

The interactive e-book can be downloaded as a free app called Stochastic Signal Processing. It can be found in the Apple App Store. In the near future, the app will also be made available for Android devices. Use of the app does not require a live internet connection.