Signal Processing - September 2017 - 4

There are two takeaways from the
digital paradigm shift in photography
and musical instruments. The first is the
significant role that signal processing
plays, of which I've already given examples. The second is the synergy with
other technological areas. Often, signal
processing couples with other technologies (such as the physical/mechanical design of the keyboard action in a
digital piano and the imaging sensor
design down to fabrication details in
digital camera), serving as a bridge or
an enabler to connect the physical part
of the system with the digital ones. Synergy has been essential to the success of
signal processing.
Since we touched on China and
musical instruments, let me share with
you the growth of a popular Chinese
traditional instrument, the guzheng, to
shine a light on the power of synergy.
If you Google the term guzheng and
watch some videos online, you will see

that it looks somewhat like a horizontal
version of a harp. Whether it is to express
flowing water or mimic blowing wind,
you may find the sound of the guzheng
very captivating. We can trace its origin to more than 2,500 years ago, shortly
after Confucius' time, and it inspired
other Asian instruments such as the Japanese koto and the Korean gayageum.
Consider i ng t hat some of to d ay's
most popular western musical instruments, such as the piano and violin, were
developed and flourished in the last three
to five centuries, I often marveled at
the Chinese cultural heritage of over
2,000 years of guzheng playing.
History aside, it is during the recent
half century that the guzheng has undergone significant development and also
become the most popular Chinese instrument being played. The strings, made of
silk in ancient times, have been replaced
by steel-coated nylon, with leading
brands adopting those made in Europe,

to increase the instrument's sound volume and refine its timbre. The way it is
played has also incorporated the twohand coordination of the main melody
and left-hand chords commonly seen in
the piano, which substantially enhanced
the richness of the expression. Faster
fingering techniques were invented with
reference to human hand kinesiology,
and sustaining the sound is achieved
with beneficial techniques from other
Chinese instruments. Through inspiration
and synergies across nations' boundaries and across technical fields, the
guzheng has undergone an amazing
transformation. In analogous ways, isn't
that what our signal processing community is experiencing?

	
IEEE	SIGNAL	PROCESSING	CUP	2018
	
GLOBAL	UNDERGRADUATE	COMPETITION	IN	SIGNAL	PROCESSING		

FORENSIC	 CAMERA	 MODEL	 IDENTIFICATION	 CHALLENGE:	

The  2018  Signal  Processing  Cup  competition  will  be  on 
forensic identification of camera model from images.  Teams 
will  be  tasked  with  designing  a  system  to  determine  which 
camera model captured a digital image without relying upon 
information in the image's metadata.   

WHO	CAN	PARTICIPATE?  Teams formed of 3 to 10 undergraduate  
students, at most one graduate student, and one faculty member. 

PRIZES:				GRAND	PRIZE	VALUED	UP	TO	$10K	TOTAL	

Monetary prizes (up to $5000), plus travel grants for the top three teams  
to showcase their work at ICASSP 2018 - Seoul, Korea. 

IMPORTANT	DATES:	

December 1, 2017:     Team registration deadline 
January 21, 2018:     Project submission deadline 
February 10, 2018:     Announcement of top three teams 
April 22‐27, 2018:     Final competition at ICASSP   
URL:  http://signalprocessingsociety.org/get‐involved/signal‐processing‐cup 
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MSP.2017.2743720

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IEEE SIGNAL PROCESSING MAGAZINE

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September 2017

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http://www.signalprocessingsociety.org/get‐involved/signal‐processing‐cup
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signal Processing - September 2017
