MATLAB: Smoothing a noisy signal

Question

Hey everyone,

I need some help smoothing out a noisy signal. I know of one or two methods but I am not sure what the best way of doing it is. Can someone tell me what is the most efficient way of smoothing?

Thanks for the help!

Answer 1

The most efficient way of smoothing is to leave the data untouched.

conv(signal, ones(1,3)/3) is fairly efficient computationally, but you could probably do better if you created a custom mex routine.

If you were instead perhaps wondering about the most effective way of smoothing, then you need to define your goals for the results.