Field Guide to Probability, Random Processes, and Random Data Analysis

Mathematical theory developed in basic courses in engineering and science usually involves deterministic phenomena, and such is the case in solving a differential equation that describes some linear system where both the input and output are deterministic quantities. In practice, however, the input to a linear system, such as an imaging system or radar system, may contain a "random" quantity that yields uncertainty about the output. Such systems must be treated by probabilistic methods rather than deterministic methods. For this reason, probability theory and random process theory have become indispensable tools in the mathematical analysis of these kinds of engineering systems. Topics included in this SPIE Field Guide are basic probability theory, random processes, random fields, and random data analysis.