Classification of one-dimensional non-stationary signals using the Wigner-Ville distribution in convolutional neural networks

In this paper we argue that the Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD), instead of the spectrogram, should be used as basic input into convolutional neural network (CNN) based classification schemes. The WVD has superior resolution and localization as compared to other time-frequency representations. We present a method where a large-size kernel may be learned from the data, to enhance features important for classification. We back up our claims with theory, as well as application on simulated examples and show superior performance as compared to the commonly used spectrogram.