Lecture on ‘Challenges in Processing Natural Signals’ held at GITAM

Metro India News | Hyderabad

The growing complexity of natural signals and the challenges they pose for artificial intelligence were discussed at a lecture organized by the Department of Electrical, Electronics and Communication Engineering (EECE), School of Core Engineering, at GITAM Deemed to be University, Hyderabad on Wednesday.

Prof. B. Yegnanarayana, former professor at IIT Madras and INSA Senior Scientist at IIIT Hyderabad, delivered the lecture on “Challenges in Processing Natural Signals like Speech”. 

Underlining the importance of speech in everyday life, Prof. Yegnanarayana observed that the widespread use of mobile phones has been closely associated with the ability to communicate through speech. He recalled the pioneering work of Bishnu S. Atal in speech compression and Linear Predictive Coding and D. Raj Reddy in speech recognition, highlighting the contribution of scientists of Indian origin. 

He said India has considerable intellectual capability and encouraged students and young researchers to build on this legacy. Prof. Yegnanarayana explained the distinction between speech processing and speech signal processing, noting that human speech understanding involves knowledge, context and selective attention, while machines analyze and represent speech using DSP techniques. He urged researchers to find better representations for natural signals to reduce AI complexity. 

Prof. T. Madhavi welcomed the gathering and introduced the speaker. Prof. Ramesh Vaddi and Prof. Prasanta R.M felicitated him, while Dr. Mariyadasu M coordinated the program. Meanwhile, GITAM students and staff observed the 112th birth anniversary of Telangana poet and freedom fighter Kaloji Narayana Rao. Pro Vice-Chancellor Prof. D. S. Rao paid floral tributes.