Data Processing

Back to: Fundamentals of Signal Processing

The action of processing data implies that we are changing the data in some way. An example of data processing would be notching out 60Hz of noise from a signal.

Data processing is distinct from data analysis, which separates data into components for a greater understanding of that data. For example, 300 years ago, Isaac Newton used a prism to separate white light into its various color components.

It is also distinct from system identification, which leverages insights from data analysis to estimate the properties of a system. Newton used detailed moon analyses from John Flamsteed to better identify the moon’s motion around the earth.

Data Processing Operations

Data processing operations include the following:

• Low-latency filtering: IIR filters with feedback
• General-purpose filtering: FIR filters without feedback
• Windowing: FIR multiplication in time rather than convolution
• Resampling: upsampling or downsampling