Wavelet Toolbox

Short-Time Fourier Analysis

In an effort to correct this deficiency, Dennis Gabor (1946) adapted the Fourier transform to analyze only a small section of the signal at a time -- a technique called windowing the signal. Gabor's adaptation, called the Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT), maps a signal into a two-dimensional function of time and frequency.

The STFT represents a sort of compromise between the time- and frequency-based views of a signal. It provides some information about both when and at what frequencies a signal event occurs. However, you can only obtain this information with limited precision, and that precision is determined by the size of the window.

While the STFT compromise between time and frequency information can be useful, the drawback is that once you choose a particular size for the time window, that window is the same for all frequencies. Many signals require a more flexible approach -- one where we can vary the window size to determine more accurately either time or frequency.

Fourier Analysis

Wavelet Analysis

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