A Generalized Sampling Method for Finite-Rate-of-Innovation-Signal Reconstruction

The problem of sampling signals that are not admisible within the classical Shannon framework has received much attention in the recent past. Typically, these signals have a parametric representation with a finite number of degrees of freedom per time unit. It was shown that, by choosing suitable sampling kernels, the parameters can be computed by employing high-resolution spectral estimation techniques. In this letter, we propose a simple acquisition and reconstruction method within the framework of multichannel sampling. In the proposed approach, an infinite stream of nonuniformly-spaced Dirac impulses can be sampled and accurately reconstructed provided that there is at most one Dirac impulse per sampling period. The reconstruction algorithm has a low computational complexity, and the parameters are computed on the fly. The processing delay is minimal-just the sampling period. We propose sampling circuits using inexpensive passive devices such as resistors and capacitors. We also show how the approach can be extended to sample piecewise-constant signals with a minimal change in the system configuration. We provide some simulation results to confirm the theoretical findings.