On Unlimited Sampling

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel sampling approach using modulo ADCs that can recover signals beyond traditional dynamic range limits, supported by theoretical conditions and a stable recovery algorithm.

Contribution

It provides the first theoretical analysis and recovery algorithm for signals sampled with modulo ADCs, enabling perfect reconstruction of signals with arbitrary amplitudes.

Findings

Perfect recovery of signals with large amplitudes demonstrated.

Theoretical conditions for stable recovery established.

Numerical experiments confirm practical effectiveness.

Abstract

Shannon's sampling theorem provides a link between the continuous and the discrete realms stating that bandlimited signals are uniquely determined by its values on a discrete set. This theorem is realized in practice using so called analog--to--digital converters (ADCs). Unlike Shannon's sampling theorem, the ADCs are limited in dynamic range. Whenever a signal exceeds some preset threshold, the ADC saturates, resulting in aliasing due to clipping. The goal of this paper is to analyze an alternative approach that does not suffer from these problems. Our work is based on recent developments in ADC design, which allow for ADCs that reset rather than to saturate, thus producing modulo samples. An open problem that remains is: Given such modulo samples of a bandlimited function as well as the dynamic range of the ADC, how can the original signal be recovered and what are the sufficient conditions that guarantee perfect recovery? In this paper, we prove such sufficiency conditions and complement them with a stable recovery algorithm. Our results are not limited to certain amplitude ranges, in fact even the same circuit architecture allows for the recovery of arbitrary large amplitudes as long as some estimate of the signal norm is available when recovering. Numerical experiments that corroborate our theory indeed show that it is possible to perfectly recover function that takes values that are orders of magnitude higher than the ADC's threshold.