Session SIPTool: The ‘Signal and Image Processing Tool’ An Engaging Learning Environment

With the SIPTool, students create an integrated system that includes their processing routine along with image/signal acquisition and display. This integrated system is a very different result than the ‘haphazard ’ line-by-line processing steps that students may or may not successfully stumble through in a MatLab environment, as they follow a given example. The SIPTool-based implementation is much more like a complete, commercial product. Abstract The ‘Signal and Image Processing Tool ’ is a multimedia software environment for demonstrating and developing Signal & Image Processing techniques. It has been used at CalPoly for three years. A key feature is extensibility via C/C++ programming. The tool has a minimal learning curve, making it amenable for weekly student projects. The software distribution includes multimedia demonstrations ready for classroom or laboratory use. SIPTool programming assignments strengthen the skills needed for life-long learning by requiring students to translate mathematical expressions into a standard programming language, to create an integrated processing system (as opposed to simply using canned processing routines). A variety of learning objectives can be readily addressed with the SIPTool including: time/frequency relationships, 1-D and 2-D Fourier transforms, convolution, correlation, filtering, difference equations, and pole/zero relationships [1]. Learning objectives associated with image processing can also be presented, such as: gray scale resolution, pixel resolution, histogram equalization, median filtering and frequency-domain filtering [2]. Demonstrations are provided in the software distribution for all of the above learning objectives