Genetic algorithm approach to the configuration of wavelet packet processing tree

The standard wavelet transform can be considered to be a subtree of a complete multiresolution binary tree, in which each branch corresponds to a decomposition step. Any subtree of this multiresolution tree which covers all leaves is a valid wavelet packet processing tree, which specifies the processing steps for a wavelet decomposition of the original data. The present paper describes an adaptation scheme for configuring a wavelet packet processing tree using a genetic algorithm search of the complete multiresolution tree. Data compression is used as the target signal processing task. Trees are configured for different compression rates, and performance is measured based on the reconstruction distortion. Performances are validated using testing as well as training data; the performance of the configured trees are compared to that of the standard wavelet transform.