Pertinence of Walsh Functions to EMC Engineers [includes Editor's note]

I have just had occasion to look over the August issue of this TRANSACTIONS, which consists of the Proceedings of the 1971 Walsh Function Symposium. The theoretical investigations of Walsh functions and their potential to such areas as linear and nonlinear filtering, image processing and pattern recognition, bandwidth compression, and signal detection offer promise of attractive new applications to the field of communications engineering. It appears appropriate that both the AdCom and the TRANSACTIONS staffs review their policies with regard to supporting technical programs and papers so that their efforts will concentrate more succinctly on areas of direct interest to EMC Group members.[Editor's Note: The August 1971 issue of this TRANSACTIONS was apparently not well introduced to our readers. Evidence of this fact is found in the foregoing, as well as in other unpublished correspondence. Basically, letters ask, "Why should Walsh functions, admittedly important to some groups, receive so much attention from the EMC Group ?" The answer is found in a logical argument which runs in the following way. EMC engineers are going to be concerned more and more with digital systems in the future-digital applications are growing at an ever increasing rate. Consequently, EMC engineers, to remain viable as a group, must learn to cope with external interactions involving digital systems. Required modifications to digital systems, including certain types of digital filters, are conveniently based upon Walsh function theory. It behooves the EMC engineer to become acquainted with this tool or face the possibility of obsolescence.]