Astrapi Spectrum Analyzer

Astrapi’s patented Spectrum Analyzer arose from our need in telecommunications to accurately and efficiently measure our occupied bandwidth (range of frequencies used by a signal). Traditional spectrum analyzers based on the Fourier transform contain an implicit assumption that the spectrum is at least approximately stationary (constant power in each frequency), an assumption which Spiral Modulation deliberately breaks. Astrapi’s Spectrum Analyzer avoids an assumption that the spectrum is stationary through a novel application of the superheterodyne principle from telecommunications.

Since real-world spectra are almost never stationary, the Fourier stationary assumption is a problem for spectral analysis in many fields outside of telecommunications, which are now addressable by the Astrapi Spectrum Analyzer. The stationary limitation of the Fourier transform is well-known. This limitation has led to a vast literature of work-arounds to deal with this short-coming. These work-arounds include Fourier windows, wavelets, Welch’s Method and Bartlett’s Method. What they all have in common is that they are in the nature of attempting to fit a square peg into a round hole. The fundamental problem is intractable, and so one is left to choose among poor solutions.

The superiority of the Astrapi Spectrum Analyzer relative to traditional spectral analysis for biomedical data was recently shown in a published peer-reviewed paper.