Wavelet hardware processing unit for transient signal detection

In this paper we propose and analyze a hardware architecture for Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) computation. Wavelet transform is a very useful alternative when it is desired to analyze signals with a non-stationary behavior (i.e. frequency spectrum of the signal varies in time). As it happens with the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), the Discrete Wavelet Transform is a faster alternative that operates on vectors whose length is a power of two. However, even the DWT may be not faster enough when it is implemented as a software algorithm executed by a processor. In this paper, we propose a hardware architecture processing unit of a DAUB4 discrete wavelet transform, compatible with the Altera Avalon Specification. The performance of the processing unit is analyzed for different configuration parameters and FPGA devices.