Math 414-501 Projects Spring 2024
Requirements: Projects can be team efforts, with two
or three students per project. Projects done alone are
ordinally not acceptable. The project should be focused;
avoid broad topics that cannot be completed by the end of the
semester. Projects must involve wavelets. They must also
have mathematical content. "Show-and-tell" or "golly-gee-whiz"
projects are not acceptable.
There are two types of projects that will be allowed. The first is
using wavelets to analyze a physical problem. The second type is a
report on the mathematical content involving of a wavelet
topic not covered in the course.
Due date: The project, in written form, is due in my office by
5 pm on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.
Style: The project report must be
typed and written in good English prose; use 12 point font, 1.5 line
spacing, and reasonable page margins. The length and content will
generally vary, but will probably come to about ten to twelve pages,
not including diagrams, programs, or references; it should not exceed
twenty-five pages. Multimedia context should be delivered on a CD or
DVD.
- Introduction. This should briefly describe the project and
summarize the rest of the paper.
- Mathematical background. Discuss the wavelet(s) to be used and
other mathematical topics involved fractals, noise, etc. (Ask
me if you're not sure.)
- The application. Use wavelets to deal with the
mathematical or physical problem you want to look at.
- Conclusions. What information did your analysis
yield? Include relevant charts, pictures, and other related things.
- References. References, including web sites, must be properly
cited. Be aware that plagiarism is a legal as well as moral offense.
Suggestions for Topics: The best projects are based on topics
that a student wants to investigate. However, that isn't always
possible, so here are several general areas for topics. These are not
the only topics you may use. You are free to choose any topic
closely related to wavelets, subject to my approval. Also, there are
many different wavelets and wavelet transforms. Use the Haar wavelet
only in conjunction with some other wavelet.
- Wavelet analysis, fractals, and heart rates. Recent studies
have shown that a healthy person's heart rate is fractal
(cf. SIAM
News). Also, wavelets have been used to determine fractal
dimension and other quantities associated with fractals. One project
would be to use wavelets to determine the fractal properties of a set
of heart-rate
data. See PhysioNet for
data. Other places on the web also have it. Fractals dynamical
systems and other applications
- Singularity detection. See chapter 6 in the text.
- Failure of Mechanical Devices. The sound of a machine changes
when it starts to fail. (Think high-pitched squeal from under the hood
of your car.) Wavelets can be used to detect the discontinuity in the
monitored sound of a machine, and then warn of failure.
- Chirps. A chirp is a fast change in frequency. Wavelets and
wavelet packets can be used to analyze such rapid frequency changes.
- Restoring damaged or noisy recordings.
- Stock market trends and applications to economics.
- Images and audio files.
- Compression and noise
removal. (Compressing sound files is not recommended. The
standard MPEG compression makes use of what the ear can hear. It is
much more sophisticated than simple file compression.)
- Detection of altered images and audio files. Detection of
splices in a video clip.
- Hiding an image (steganography).
- Mathematical topics: biorthogonal wavelets what are they?
how are they used? Wavelet packets, continuous wavelet transforms,
aliasing in wavelets.
Updated: 1/12/2024 (fjn)