Signals and Systems (Spring 2026)

System Parameter Identification with Generative AI Assistants

Estimate the time constant of a series RC circuit from observed input and output signals, and compare system-based methods with the assistance of generative AI tools.

Project Guidelines (PDF)

Starter Notebook (.ipynb)

Objectives

• Estimate the system's time constant from measured input and output signals.

• Study how noise affects the estimates and compare the reliability of different approaches.

Project Tasks

• Task A: Estimate the time constant from a given input-output pair using the system equation, Fourier transforms, and a generative AI assistant.

• Task B: Repeat the estimation with noisy observations and investigate the effect of noise variance. Complete the experiments and comparisons in the starter notebook.

For each experiment with a generative AI assistant, record the model name and access time, your prompt, the response, and your summary. Follow the notebook's instructions about what information to provide to the model.

Report Requirements

Submit one completed Jupyter notebook (.ipynb). Use the filename format in the project guidelines, replacing the example name with your first name.

• Fill in the missing code and ensure the completed notebook runs.

• Include the required experimental results and generative AI responses.

• Answer all discussion questions, including the strengths and limitations of each approach, the effect of noise, and whether the resistance and capacitance can be identified separately.

Install Python and Jupyter Notebook before beginning. The starter notebook uses NumPy and Matplotlib.