This workshop presents a practical, application-focused guide to designing optimized discrete-time differentiators. The first half will be a tutorial introducing a consistent design methodology for creating efficient, high-performance differentiators using Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filters. It will cover both band-limited and full-band designs, along with appropriate use cases for each. Digital integrator implementations will also be included for comparison, implemented with Infinite Impulse Response (IIR) filters.

An interesting parallel will be drawn with the Hilbert transform, which can serve as a low-noise alternative to true differentiators in applications such as edge detection and quadrature signal generation, without the high-frequency noise amplification that comes with a true differentiator.

The second half of the workshop will be hands-on for those with their own laptops, walking participants through the implementation of practical FIR differentiators using Python, with references to equivalent methods in MATLAB and Octave. Attendees will receive all the necessary installation instructions and example scripts to support live experimentation and future use.