Condizionamento e acquisizione di segnali: principi generali e applicazioni in campo audio

In order to perceive, store and analyze physical events they must be transduced into electrical signals and, eventually, converted into digital form for processing on computers. This is a standard procedure in every civil and industrial applications: biomedicine, audio, astrophysics, automotive, telecommunications, etc. Methods for acquiring signals and data from the physical world have benefited greatly from technological progress. The latest electronic components greatly improve performance in terms of speed, power consumption, and physical size requirements. Although there are some general guidelines, this process of data acquisition often requires special characteristics specific to the field of application: sensor types, signal conditioning, interfacing, and so forth. Our seminar first describes the general principles of signals and data acquisition. It then focuses on discussion of the analog and digital methods and circuits for audio field. Regarding this field of application, we will also remark on some psychoacoustic paradigm, some issues regarding audio recording/reproduction and other factors that often address specific solutions adopted for the target systems (telecoms, high-end audio, consumer electronics, etc.).