IITM BS Signal Processing Project (EE4999): Syllabus and Tips

The Signal Processing Project (EE4999) is a software-based project course at the diploma level of the IITM BS Electronic Systems programme. Over about two months, you design, code and test signal processing methods on real signals, guided by IIT Madras faculty, and finish with a demonstration. Signals and Systems (EE2101) and Digital Signal Processing (EE3101) must be done before, or taken in the same term.

Credits and level

The Sep 2025 syllabus gives the pattern 0-0-0-3, which is 3 credits. Both ES handbook course tables list 2 credits. The same gap exists for the other diploma project. Ask support which number applies to you. Both documents agree that it is a diploma level course.

The syllabus names four instructors: Prof. Sankaran Aniruddhan, Prof. Boby George, Prof. Janakiraman Viraraghavan and Prof. Lakshmi Narasimhan Theagarajan.

How the project runs

There is no week plan in the syllabus. It describes the project in stages.

1. Mentoring. You start with structured online sessions with your faculty guide and settle on a problem.
2. Building the method. You design, write and test your processing steps. The syllabus names audio, speech, biomedical, communication and image signals as possible areas. It says you will use standard tools and programming platforms, but it does not name them.
3. Demonstration. You show your results at the end. The syllabus says the demos focus on technical accuracy, efficiency and new ideas.
4. Writing it up. Documentation, teamwork and clear communication are named as goals too.

Does it need a campus visit?

The syllabus does not mention a campus stay for this project, unlike the Electronics System Project, which has about two weeks at IIT Madras. The handbook's study plans show about 2 weeks of campus time for the two projects, in the term where both sit. It is not clear whether that covers this project too. Ask support before you plan travel.

How to plan it

• Finish DSP first if you can. The handbook lets you take DSP in the same term, but filter design and frequency analysis are the tools you will use every day in this project.
• Choose data you can get easily. Audio or speech you record on your phone is simple to collect. Check with your guide before you use any outside dataset.
• Ask about tools in week one. If you are free to choose, use the language you know best. Python Programming (CS1002) is part of the diploma.
• Build a baseline first. Get a simple version working, measure how well it does, then improve it step by step.
• Save every result. Keep plots of the signal before and after processing, and note what you changed each time. This becomes your demo and report.

How the project is assessed

The syllabus says the project ends in demonstrations, judged on accuracy, efficiency and new ideas. It gives no marks split, and the ES handbook has no separate project grading rules. Ask your guide how the demo is marked.

Where it counts

It is one of the 2 project courses in the ES diploma, so you need it for the Diploma in Electronic Systems and the BS degree. The diploma checkpoints also track projects. The full list of diploma courses is in ES diploma courses, and the time limits are in ES checkpoints.

Who finds it hard and how to prepare

Students who passed DSP by solving textbook problems often struggle when real data is noisy and messy. Coding speed is the other common gap.

• Revise the Fourier transform and filter weeks of Signals and Systems and Digital Signal Processing.
• Practise plotting a signal and its spectrum in code, then applying a filter and plotting again.
• Record a few test signals yourself before the project starts, so you are not waiting for data.

Common questions

Do I need hardware for this project?

The syllabus calls it software-based, so the work is mainly coding and testing methods on signals. Ask your guide if your chosen topic needs any recording equipment.

Can I start before Digital Signal Processing?

Only if you take DSP in the same term. The handbook lists both Signals and Systems and DSP as corequisites, so each must be done earlier or running alongside.

Which diploma project should I do first?

It depends on your strengths and your lab progress. This one needs Signals and Systems and DSP. The Electronics System Project needs the Analog Electronics Lab and the Sensors Lab. Pick the one whose corequisites you finish first.