Writing Fast Matlab Code #10:Signal Processing
Filed under: Code Optimization, Signal Processing, Tutorials
Even without the Signal Processing Toolbox, Matlab is quite capable in signal processing computa- tions. This section lists code snippets to perform several common operations efficiently.
Moving-average filter
To compute an N-sample moving average of x with zero padding:
y = filter(ones(N,1)/N,1,x);
For large N, it is faster to use
y = cumsum(x)/N;
y(N+1:end) = y(N+1:end) − y(1:end−N);
Locating zero-crossings and extrema
To obtain the indices where signal x crosses zero:
i = find(diff(sign(x))); % The kth zero−crossing lies between x(i(k)) and x(i(k)+1)
Linear interpolation can be used for subsample estimates of zero-crossing locations:
i = find(diff(sign(x))); i = i − x(i)./(x(i+1) − x(i)); % Linear interpolation
Since local maximum and minimum points of a signal have zero derivative, their locations can be estimated from the zero-crossings of diff(x), provided the signal is sampled with sufficiently fine resolution. For a coarsely sampled signal, a better estimate is
iMax = find(sign(x(2:end−1)−x(1:end−2)) + sign(x(2:end−1)−x(3:end)) > 0) + 1; iMin = find(sign(x(2:end−1)−x(1:end−2)) + sign(x(2:end−1)−x(3:end)) < 0) + 1;
FFT-based convolution
This line performs FFT-based circular convolution, equivalent to y = filter(b,1,x) except near the boundaries, provided that length(b) < length(x):
y = ifft(fft(b,length(x)).*fft(x));
For FFT-based zero-padded convolution, equivalent to y = filter(b,1,x),
N = length(x)+length(b)−1; y = ifft(fft(b,N).*fft(x,N)); y = y(1:length(x));
In both code snippets above, y will be complex-valued, even if x and b are both real. To force y to be real, follow the computation with y = real(y). If you have the Signal Processing Toolbox, it is faster to use fftfilt for FFT-based, zero-padded filtering.
Noncausal filtering and other boundary extensions
For its intended use, the filter command is limited to causal filters, that is, filters that do not involve “future” values to the right of the current sample. Furthermore, filter is limited to zero-padded boundary extension; data beyond the array boundaries are assumed zero as if the data were padded with zeros.
For two-tap filters, noncausal filtering and other boundary extensions are possible through filter’s fourth initial condition argument. Given a boundary extension value padLeft for x(0), the filter yn = b1 xn + b2 xn−1 may be implemented as
y = filter(b,1,x,padLeft*b(2));
Similarly, given a boundary extension value padRight for x(end+1), the filter yn = b1 xn+1 + b2 xn is implemented as
y = filter(b,1,[x(2:end),padRight],x(1)*b(2));
Choices for padLeft and padRight for various boundary extensions are
| Boundary extension | padLeft | padRight |
| Periodic
Whole-sample symmetric Half-sample symmetric Antisymmetric |
x(end) x(2) x(1)
2*x(1)-x(2) |
x(1) x(end-1) x(end)
2*x(end)-x(end-1) |
It is in principle possible to use a similar approach for longer filters, but ironically, computing the initial condition itself requires filtering. To implement noncausal filtering and filtering with other boundary handling, it is usually fastest to pad the input signal, apply filter, and then truncate the result.
Upsampling and Downsampling
Upsample x (insert zeros) by factor p:
y = zeros(length(x)*p−p+1,1); % For trailing zeros, use y = zeros(length(x)*p,1); y(1:p:length(x)*p) = x;
Downsample x by factor p, where 1 ≤ q ≤ p:
y = x(q:p:end);
Haar Wavelet
This code performs K stages of the Haar wavelet transform on the input data x to produce wavelet coefficients y. The input array x must have length divisible by 2K.
Forward transform:
y = x(:); N = length(y); for k = 1:K tmp = y(1:2:N) + y(2:2:N); y([1:N/2,N/2+1:N]) = ... [tmp;y(1:2:N) − 0.5*tmp]/sqrt(2); N = N/2; end
Inverse transform:
x = y(:); N = length(x)*pow2(−K); for k = 1:K N = N*2; tmp = x(N/2+1:N) + 0.5*x(1:N/2); x([1:2:N,2:2:N]) = ... [tmp;x(1:N/2) − tmp]*sqrt(2); end
Daubechies 4-Tap Wavelet
This code implements the Daubechies 4-tap wavelet in lifting scheme form [2]. The input array x must have length divisible by 2K. Filtering is done with symmetric boundary handling.
Forward transform:
U = 0.25*[2−sqrt(3),−sqrt(3)]; ScaleS = (sqrt(3) − 1)/sqrt(2); ScaleD = (sqrt(3) + 1)/sqrt(2); y = x(:); N = length(y); for k = 1:K N = N/2; y1 = y(1:2:2*N); y2 = y(2:2:2*N) + sqrt(3)*y1; y1 = y1 + filter(U,1,... y2([2:N,max(N−1,1)]),y2(1)*U(2)); y(1:2*N) = [ScaleS*... (y2 − y1([min(2,N),1:N−1]));ScaleD*y1]; end
Inverse transform:
U = 0.25*[2−sqrt(3),−sqrt(3)]; ScaleS = (sqrt(3) − 1)/sqrt(2); ScaleD = (sqrt(3) + 1)/sqrt(2); x = y(:); N = length(x)*pow2(−K); for k = 1:K y1 = x(N+1:2*N)/ScaleD; y2 = x(1:N)/ScaleS + y1([min(2,N),1:N−1]); y1 = y1 − filter(U,1,... y2([2:N,max(N−1,1)]),y2(1)*U(2)); x([1:2:2*N,2:2:2*N]) = [y1;y2 − sqrt(3)*y1]; N = 2*N; end
To use periodic boundary handling rather than symmetric boundary handling, change appearances of
[2:N,max(N-1,1)] to [2:N,1] and [min(2,N),1:N-1] to [N,1:N-1].
Popularity: 1% [?]
CONV2 Overlap-add Method
Overlap-add method of CONV2 using FFT2:
CONV2OLAM Overlap-add method of CONV2 using FFT2.
Y = CONV2OLAM(A,B) performs the 2-D convolution of matrices A and B using the overlap/add method and using internal parameters (FFT2 size and block length) which guarantee efficient execution.
If [ma,na] = size(A) and [mb,nb] = size(B), then size(Y) = [ma+mb-1,na+nb-1].
allows you to have some control over the internal parameters by using a zero padding.
If mode is equal to:
- - 0 is the default value, if not specified. This value for mode uses overlap/add method. Ex.
conv2olam(a,b,0)
is equivalent to perform conv2olam(a,b).
- - 1 the dimensions of input matrices are zero padded to their nextpow2 values (type ‘help nextpow2′ on Matlab prompt) to perform FFT2 and IFFT2. No overlap is performed. Ex.
conv2olam(a,b,1)
- - 2 the dimensions of input matrices are not zero padded to perform these FFT-based operations. No overlap is performed. Ex.
conv2olam(a,b,2)
- - 3 the dimensions of matrices are zero padded to fixed values which must be specified to perform overlapping. Ex.
conv2olam(a,b,3,512,512)
uses 512 X 512 matrices to perform overlap/add method.
See also CONV2, FILTFILT, FFT2, IFFT2.
Report bugs to luigi.rosa@tiscali.it
The zip file includes:
- readme.txt —> this description
- conv2olam.m —> the M-file which contains the m-function to perform
Please contribute if you find this software useful.
Popularity: 6% [?]


















































