Hybrid discriminative/class-specific classifiers for narrowband signals

The class-specific (CS) method of signal classification operates by computing low-dimensional feature sets defined for each signal class of interest. By computing separate feature sets tailored to each class, i.e., CS features, the CS method avoids estimating probability distributions in a high-dimension feature space common to all classes. Building a CS classifier amounts to designing feature extraction modules for each class of interest. In this paper we present the design of three CS modules used to form a CS classifier for narrowband signals of finite duration. A general module for narrowband signals based on a narrowband tracker is described. The only assumptions this module makes regarding the time evolution of the signal spectrum are: (1) one or more narrowband lines are present, and (2) the lines wandered either not at all, e.g., CW signal, or with a purpose, e.g., swept FM signal. The other two modules are suited for specific classes of waveforms and assume some a priori knowledge of the signal is available from training data. For in situ training, the tracker-based module can be used to detect as yet unobserved waveforms and classify them into general categories, for example short CW, long CW, fast FM, slow FM, etc. Waveform-specific class-models can then be designed using these waveforms for training. Classification results are presented comparing the performance of a probabilistic conventional classifier with that of a CS classifier built from general modules and a CS classifier built from waveform-specific modules. Results are also presented for hybrid discriminative/generative versions of the classifiers to illustrate the performance gains attainable in using a hybrid over a generative classifier alone.