DSP
Cross Correlation
A measure of similarity between two signals as a function of displacement, used for pattern matching and synchronization.
Detailed Explanation
Cross-correlation slides one signal across another, computing the dot product at each offset. High correlation indicates the signals match well at that offset. This finds patterns in noisy data, synchronizes communications, and aligns images.
Hardware implementation uses multiply-accumulate (MAC) units. For real-time processing, correlation may use FFT-based methods (correlation theorem) or specialized correlation architectures.