Peak signal detection in realtime timeseries data

Here is an implementation of the Smoothed z-score algorithm (above) in Golang. It assumes a slice of []int16 (PCM 16bit samples). You can find a gist here.

/*
Settings (the ones below are examples: choose what is best for your data)
set lag to 5;          # lag 5 for the smoothing functions
set threshold to 3.5;  # 3.5 standard deviations for signal
set influence to 0.5;  # between 0 and 1, where 1 is normal influence, 0.5 is half
*/

// ZScore on 16bit WAV samples
func ZScore(samples []int16, lag int, threshold float64, influence float64) (signals []int16) {
    //lag := 20
    //threshold := 3.5
    //influence := 0.5

    signals = make([]int16, len(samples))
    filteredY := make([]int16, len(samples))
    for i, sample := range samples[0:lag] {
        filteredY[i] = sample
    }
    avgFilter := make([]int16, len(samples))
    stdFilter := make([]int16, len(samples))

    avgFilter[lag] = Average(samples[0:lag])
    stdFilter[lag] = Std(samples[0:lag])

    for i := lag + 1; i < len(samples); i++ {

        f := float64(samples[i])

        if float64(Abs(samples[i]-avgFilter[i-1])) > threshold*float64(stdFilter[i-1]) {
            if samples[i] > avgFilter[i-1] {
                signals[i] = 1
            } else {
                signals[i] = -1
            }
            filteredY[i] = int16(influence*f + (1-influence)*float64(filteredY[i-1]))
            avgFilter[i] = Average(filteredY[(i - lag):i])
            stdFilter[i] = Std(filteredY[(i - lag):i])
        } else {
            signals[i] = 0
            filteredY[i] = samples[i]
            avgFilter[i] = Average(filteredY[(i - lag):i])
            stdFilter[i] = Std(filteredY[(i - lag):i])
        }
    }

    return
}

// Average a chunk of values
func Average(chunk []int16) (avg int16) {
    var sum int64
    for _, sample := range chunk {
        if sample < 0 {
            sample *= -1
        }
        sum += int64(sample)
    }
    return int16(sum / int64(len(chunk)))
}

Here's a C implementation of @Jean-Paul's Smoothed Z-score for the Arduino microcontroller used to take accelerometer readings and decide whether the direction of an impact has come from the left or the right. This performs really well since this device returns a bounced signal. Here's this input to this peak detection algorithm from the device - showing an impact from the right followed by and impact from the left. You can see the initial spike then the oscillation of the sensor.

https://i.stack.imgur.com/3Jl2b.png

#include <stdio.h>
#include <math.h>
#include <string.h>


#define SAMPLE_LENGTH 1000

float stddev(float data[], int len);
float mean(float data[], int len);
void thresholding(float y[], int signals[], int lag, float threshold, float influence);


void thresholding(float y[], int signals[], int lag, float threshold, float influence) {
    memset(signals, 0, sizeof(int) * SAMPLE_LENGTH);
    float filteredY[SAMPLE_LENGTH];
    memcpy(filteredY, y, sizeof(float) * SAMPLE_LENGTH);
    float avgFilter[SAMPLE_LENGTH];
    float stdFilter[SAMPLE_LENGTH];

    avgFilter[lag - 1] = mean(y, lag);
    stdFilter[lag - 1] = stddev(y, lag);

    for (int i = lag; i < SAMPLE_LENGTH; i++) {
        if (fabsf(y[i] - avgFilter[i-1]) > threshold * stdFilter[i-1]) {
            if (y[i] > avgFilter[i-1]) {
                signals[i] = 1;
            } else {
                signals[i] = -1;
            }
            filteredY[i] = influence * y[i] + (1 - influence) * filteredY[i-1];
        } else {
            signals[i] = 0;
        }
        avgFilter[i] = mean(filteredY + i-lag, lag);
        stdFilter[i] = stddev(filteredY + i-lag, lag);
    }
}

float mean(float data[], int len) {
    float sum = 0.0, mean = 0.0;

    int i;
    for(i=0; i<len; ++i) {
        sum += data[i];
    }

    mean = sum/len;
    return mean;


}

float stddev(float data[], int len) {
    float the_mean = mean(data, len);
    float standardDeviation = 0.0;

    int i;
    for(i=0; i<len; ++i) {
        standardDeviation += pow(data[i] - the_mean, 2);
    }

    return sqrt(standardDeviation/len);
}

int main() {
    printf("Hello, World!\n");
    int lag = 100;
    float threshold = 5;
    float influence = 0;
    float y[]=  {1,1,1.1,1,0.9,1,1,1.1,1,0.9,1,1.1,1,1,0.9,1,1,1.1,1,1,1,1,1.1,0.9,1,1.1,1,1,0.9,
  ....
1,1.1,1,1,1.1,1,0.8,0.9,1,1.2,0.9,1,1,1.1,1.2,1,1.5,1,3,2,5,3,2,1,1,1,0.9,1,1,3,       2.6,4,3,3.2,2,1,1,0.8,4,4,2,2.5,1,1,1,1.2,1,1.5,1,3,2,5,3,2,1,1,1,0.9,1,1,3,
       2.6,4,3,3.2,2,1,1,0.8,4,4,2,2.5,1,1,1}

    int signal[SAMPLE_LENGTH];

    thresholding(y, signal,  lag, threshold, influence);

    return 0;
}

Hers's the result with influence = 0

https://i.stack.imgur.com/HGhvw.png

Not great but here with influence = 1

https://i.stack.imgur.com/slQEu.png

which is very good.

Here is a C++ implementation of the smoothed z-score algorithm from this answer

std::vector<int> smoothedZScore(std::vector<float> input)
{   
    //lag 5 for the smoothing functions
    int lag = 5;
    //3.5 standard deviations for signal
    float threshold = 3.5;
    //between 0 and 1, where 1 is normal influence, 0.5 is half
    float influence = .5;

    if (input.size() <= lag + 2)
    {
        std::vector<int> emptyVec;
        return emptyVec;
    }

    //Initialise variables
    std::vector<int> signals(input.size(), 0.0);
    std::vector<float> filteredY(input.size(), 0.0);
    std::vector<float> avgFilter(input.size(), 0.0);
    std::vector<float> stdFilter(input.size(), 0.0);
    std::vector<float> subVecStart(input.begin(), input.begin() + lag);
    avgFilter[lag] = mean(subVecStart);
    stdFilter[lag] = stdDev(subVecStart);

    for (size_t i = lag + 1; i < input.size(); i++)
    {
        if (std::abs(input[i] - avgFilter[i - 1]) > threshold * stdFilter[i - 1])
        {
            if (input[i] > avgFilter[i - 1])
            {
                signals[i] = 1; //# Positive signal
            }
            else
            {
                signals[i] = -1; //# Negative signal
            }
            //Make influence lower
            filteredY[i] = influence* input[i] + (1 - influence) * filteredY[i - 1];
        }
        else
        {
            signals[i] = 0; //# No signal
            filteredY[i] = input[i];
        }
        //Adjust the filters
        std::vector<float> subVec(filteredY.begin() + i - lag, filteredY.begin() + i);
        avgFilter[i] = mean(subVec);
        stdFilter[i] = stdDev(subVec);
    }
    return signals;
}

Here is an actual Java implementation based on the Groovy answer posted earlier. (I know there are already Groovy and Kotlin implementations posted, but for someone like me who's only done Java, it's a real hassle to figure out how to convert between other languages and Java).

(Results match with other people's graphs)

Algorithm implementation

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.List;

import org.apache.commons.math3.stat.descriptive.SummaryStatistics;

public class SignalDetector {

    public HashMap<String, List> analyzeDataForSignals(List<Double> data, int lag, Double threshold, Double influence) {

        // init stats instance
        SummaryStatistics stats = new SummaryStatistics();

        // the results (peaks, 1 or -1) of our algorithm
        List<Integer> signals = new ArrayList<Integer>(Collections.nCopies(data.size(), 0));

        // filter out the signals (peaks) from our original list (using influence arg)
        List<Double> filteredData = new ArrayList<Double>(data);

        // the current average of the rolling window
        List<Double> avgFilter = new ArrayList<Double>(Collections.nCopies(data.size(), 0.0d));

        // the current standard deviation of the rolling window
        List<Double> stdFilter = new ArrayList<Double>(Collections.nCopies(data.size(), 0.0d));

        // init avgFilter and stdFilter
        for (int i = 0; i < lag; i++) {
            stats.addValue(data.get(i));
        }
        avgFilter.set(lag - 1, stats.getMean());
        stdFilter.set(lag - 1, Math.sqrt(stats.getPopulationVariance())); // getStandardDeviation() uses sample variance
        stats.clear();

        // loop input starting at end of rolling window
        for (int i = lag; i < data.size(); i++) {

            // if the distance between the current value and average is enough standard deviations (threshold) away
            if (Math.abs((data.get(i) - avgFilter.get(i - 1))) > threshold * stdFilter.get(i - 1)) {

                // this is a signal (i.e. peak), determine if it is a positive or negative signal
                if (data.get(i) > avgFilter.get(i - 1)) {
                    signals.set(i, 1);
                } else {
                    signals.set(i, -1);
                }

                // filter this signal out using influence
                filteredData.set(i, (influence * data.get(i)) + ((1 - influence) * filteredData.get(i - 1)));
            } else {
                // ensure this signal remains a zero
                signals.set(i, 0);
                // ensure this value is not filtered
                filteredData.set(i, data.get(i));
            }

            // update rolling average and deviation
            for (int j = i - lag; j < i; j++) {
                stats.addValue(filteredData.get(j));
            }
            avgFilter.set(i, stats.getMean());
            stdFilter.set(i, Math.sqrt(stats.getPopulationVariance()));
            stats.clear();
        }

        HashMap<String, List> returnMap = new HashMap<String, List>();
        returnMap.put("signals", signals);
        returnMap.put("filteredData", filteredData);
        returnMap.put("avgFilter", avgFilter);
        returnMap.put("stdFilter", stdFilter);

        return returnMap;

    } // end
}

Main method

import java.text.DecimalFormat;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.List;

public class Main {

    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        DecimalFormat df = new DecimalFormat("#0.000");

        ArrayList<Double> data = new ArrayList<Double>(Arrays.asList(1d, 1d, 1.1d, 1d, 0.9d, 1d, 1d, 1.1d, 1d, 0.9d, 1d,
                1.1d, 1d, 1d, 0.9d, 1d, 1d, 1.1d, 1d, 1d, 1d, 1d, 1.1d, 0.9d, 1d, 1.1d, 1d, 1d, 0.9d, 1d, 1.1d, 1d, 1d,
                1.1d, 1d, 0.8d, 0.9d, 1d, 1.2d, 0.9d, 1d, 1d, 1.1d, 1.2d, 1d, 1.5d, 1d, 3d, 2d, 5d, 3d, 2d, 1d, 1d, 1d,
                0.9d, 1d, 1d, 3d, 2.6d, 4d, 3d, 3.2d, 2d, 1d, 1d, 0.8d, 4d, 4d, 2d, 2.5d, 1d, 1d, 1d));

        SignalDetector signalDetector = new SignalDetector();
        int lag = 30;
        double threshold = 5;
        double influence = 0;

        HashMap<String, List> resultsMap = signalDetector.analyzeDataForSignals(data, lag, threshold, influence);
        // print algorithm params
        System.out.println("lag: " + lag + "\t\tthreshold: " + threshold + "\t\tinfluence: " + influence);

        System.out.println("Data size: " + data.size());
        System.out.println("Signals size: " + resultsMap.get("signals").size());

        // print data
        System.out.print("Data:\t\t");
        for (double d : data) {
            System.out.print(df.format(d) + "\t");
        }
        System.out.println();

        // print signals
        System.out.print("Signals:\t");
        List<Integer> signalsList = resultsMap.get("signals");
        for (int i : signalsList) {
            System.out.print(df.format(i) + "\t");
        }
        System.out.println();

        // print filtered data
        System.out.print("Filtered Data:\t");
        List<Double> filteredDataList = resultsMap.get("filteredData");
        for (double d : filteredDataList) {
            System.out.print(df.format(d) + "\t");
        }
        System.out.println();

        // print running average
        System.out.print("Avg Filter:\t");
        List<Double> avgFilterList = resultsMap.get("avgFilter");
        for (double d : avgFilterList) {
            System.out.print(df.format(d) + "\t");
        }
        System.out.println();

        // print running std
        System.out.print("Std filter:\t");
        List<Double> stdFilterList = resultsMap.get("stdFilter");
        for (double d : stdFilterList) {
            System.out.print(df.format(d) + "\t");
        }
        System.out.println();

        System.out.println();
        for (int i = 0; i < signalsList.size(); i++) {
            if (signalsList.get(i) != 0) {
                System.out.println("Point " + i + " gave signal " + signalsList.get(i));
            }
        }
    }
}

Results

lag: 30     threshold: 5.0      influence: 0.0
Data size: 74
Signals size: 74
Data:           1.000   1.000   1.100   1.000   0.900   1.000   1.000   1.100   1.000   0.900   1.000   1.100   1.000   1.000   0.900   1.000   1.000   1.100   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.100   0.900   1.000   1.100   1.000   1.000   0.900   1.000   1.100   1.000   1.000   1.100   1.000   0.800   0.900   1.000   1.200   0.900   1.000   1.000   1.100   1.200   1.000   1.500   1.000   3.000   2.000   5.000   3.000   2.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   0.900   1.000   1.000   3.000   2.600   4.000   3.000   3.200   2.000   1.000   1.000   0.800   4.000   4.000   2.000   2.500   1.000   1.000   1.000   
Signals:        0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   1.000   0.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   
Filtered Data:  1.000   1.000   1.100   1.000   0.900   1.000   1.000   1.100   1.000   0.900   1.000   1.100   1.000   1.000   0.900   1.000   1.000   1.100   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.100   0.900   1.000   1.100   1.000   1.000   0.900   1.000   1.100   1.000   1.000   1.100   1.000   0.800   0.900   1.000   1.200   0.900   1.000   1.000   1.100   1.200   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   0.900   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   1.000   0.800   0.800   0.800   0.800   0.800   1.000   1.000   1.000   
Avg Filter:     0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   1.003   1.003   1.007   1.007   1.003   1.007   1.010   1.003   1.000   0.997   1.003   1.003   1.003   1.000   1.003   1.010   1.013   1.013   1.013   1.010   1.010   1.010   1.010   1.010   1.007   1.010   1.010   1.003   1.003   1.003   1.007   1.007   1.003   1.003   1.003   1.000   1.000   1.007   1.003   0.997   0.983   0.980   0.973   0.973   0.970   
Std filter:     0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.000   0.060   0.060   0.063   0.063   0.060   0.063   0.060   0.071   0.073   0.071   0.080   0.080   0.080   0.077   0.080   0.087   0.085   0.085   0.085   0.083   0.083   0.083   0.083   0.083   0.081   0.079   0.079   0.080   0.080   0.080   0.077   0.077   0.075   0.075   0.075   0.073   0.073   0.063   0.071   0.080   0.078   0.083   0.089   0.089   0.086   

Point 45 gave signal 1
Point 47 gave signal 1
Point 48 gave signal 1
Point 49 gave signal 1
Point 50 gave signal 1
Point 51 gave signal 1
Point 58 gave signal 1
Point 59 gave signal 1
Point 60 gave signal 1
Point 61 gave signal 1
Point 62 gave signal 1
Point 63 gave signal 1
Point 67 gave signal 1
Point 68 gave signal 1
Point 69 gave signal 1
Point 70 gave signal 1

https://i.stack.imgur.com/sJqrv.png?s=512

C++ Implementation

#include <iostream>
#include <vector>
#include <algorithm>
#include <unordered_map>
#include <cmath>
#include <iterator>
#include <numeric>

using namespace std;

typedef long double ld;
typedef unsigned int uint;
typedef std::vector<ld>::iterator vec_iter_ld;

/**
 * Overriding the ostream operator for pretty printing vectors.
 */
template<typename T>
std::ostream &operator<<(std::ostream &os, std::vector<T> vec) {
    os << "[";
    if (vec.size() != 0) {
        std::copy(vec.begin(), vec.end() - 1, std::ostream_iterator<T>(os, " "));
        os << vec.back();
    }
    os << "]";
    return os;
}

/**
 * This class calculates mean and standard deviation of a subvector.
 * This is basically stats computation of a subvector of a window size qual to "lag".
 */
class VectorStats {
public:
    /**
     * Constructor for VectorStats class.
     *
     * @param start - This is the iterator position of the start of the window,
     * @param end   - This is the iterator position of the end of the window,
     */
    VectorStats(vec_iter_ld start, vec_iter_ld end) {
        this->start = start;
        this->end = end;
        this->compute();
    }

    /**
     * This method calculates the mean and standard deviation using STL function.
     * This is the Two-Pass implementation of the Mean & Variance calculation.
     */
    void compute() {
        ld sum = std::accumulate(start, end, 0.0);
        uint slice_size = std::distance(start, end);
        ld mean = sum / slice_size;
        std::vector<ld> diff(slice_size);
        std::transform(start, end, diff.begin(), [mean](ld x) { return x - mean; });
        ld sq_sum = std::inner_product(diff.begin(), diff.end(), diff.begin(), 0.0);
        ld std_dev = std::sqrt(sq_sum / slice_size);

        this->m1 = mean;
        this->m2 = std_dev;
    }

    ld mean() {
        return m1;
    }

    ld standard_deviation() {
        return m2;
    }

private:
    vec_iter_ld start;
    vec_iter_ld end;
    ld m1;
    ld m2;
};

/**
 * This is the implementation of the Smoothed Z-Score Algorithm.
 * This is direction translation of https://stackoverflow.com/a/22640362/1461896.
 *
 * @param input - input signal
 * @param lag - the lag of the moving window
 * @param threshold - the z-score at which the algorithm signals
 * @param influence - the influence (between 0 and 1) of new signals on the mean and standard deviation
 * @return a hashmap containing the filtered signal and corresponding mean and standard deviation.
 */
unordered_map<string, vector<ld>> z_score_thresholding(vector<ld> input, int lag, ld threshold, ld influence) {
    unordered_map<string, vector<ld>> output;

    uint n = (uint) input.size();
    vector<ld> signals(input.size());
    vector<ld> filtered_input(input.begin(), input.end());
    vector<ld> filtered_mean(input.size());
    vector<ld> filtered_stddev(input.size());

    VectorStats lag_subvector_stats(input.begin(), input.begin() + lag);
    filtered_mean[lag - 1] = lag_subvector_stats.mean();
    filtered_stddev[lag - 1] = lag_subvector_stats.standard_deviation();

    for (int i = lag; i < n; i++) {
        if (abs(input[i] - filtered_mean[i - 1]) > threshold * filtered_stddev[i - 1]) {
            signals[i] = (input[i] > filtered_mean[i - 1]) ? 1.0 : -1.0;
            filtered_input[i] = influence * input[i] + (1 - influence) * filtered_input[i - 1];
        } else {
            signals[i] = 0.0;
            filtered_input[i] = input[i];
        }
        VectorStats lag_subvector_stats(filtered_input.begin() + (i - lag), filtered_input.begin() + i);
        filtered_mean[i] = lag_subvector_stats.mean();
        filtered_stddev[i] = lag_subvector_stats.standard_deviation();
    }

    output["signals"] = signals;
    output["filtered_mean"] = filtered_mean;
    output["filtered_stddev"] = filtered_stddev;

    return output;
};

int main() {
    vector<ld> input = {1.0, 1.0, 1.1, 1.0, 0.9, 1.0, 1.0, 1.1, 1.0, 0.9, 1.0, 1.1, 1.0, 1.0, 0.9, 1.0, 1.0, 1.1, 1.0,
                        1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.1, 0.9, 1.0, 1.1, 1.0, 1.0, 0.9, 1.0, 1.1, 1.0, 1.0, 1.1, 1.0, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0,
                        1.2, 0.9, 1.0, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.0, 1.5, 1.0, 3.0, 2.0, 5.0, 3.0, 2.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.9, 1.0,
                        1.0, 3.0, 2.6, 4.0, 3.0, 3.2, 2.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.8, 4.0, 4.0, 2.0, 2.5, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0};

    int lag = 30;
    ld threshold = 5.0;
    ld influence = 0.0;
    unordered_map<string, vector<ld>> output = z_score_thresholding(input, lag, threshold, influence);
    cout << output["signals"] << endl;
}

This problem looks similar to one I encountered in a hybrid/embedded systems course, but that was related to detecting faults when the input from a sensor is noisy. We used a Kalman filter to estimate/predict the hidden state of the system, then used statistical analysis to determine the likelihood that a fault had occurred. We were working with linear systems, but nonlinear variants exist. I remember the approach being surprisingly adaptive, but it required a model of the dynamics of the system.

Thought I would provide my Julia implementation of the algorithm for others. The gist can be found here

using Statistics
using Plots
function SmoothedZscoreAlgo(y, lag, threshold, influence)
    # Julia implimentation of http://stackoverflow.com/a/22640362/6029703
    n = length(y)
    signals = zeros(n) # init signal results
    filteredY = copy(y) # init filtered series
    avgFilter = zeros(n) # init average filter
    stdFilter = zeros(n) # init std filter
    avgFilter[lag - 1] = mean(y[1:lag]) # init first value
    stdFilter[lag - 1] = std(y[1:lag]) # init first value

    for i in range(lag, stop=n-1)
        if abs(y[i] - avgFilter[i-1]) > threshold*stdFilter[i-1]
            if y[i] > avgFilter[i-1]
                signals[i] += 1 # postive signal
            else
                signals[i] += -1 # negative signal
            end
            # Make influence lower
            filteredY[i] = influence*y[i] + (1-influence)*filteredY[i-1]
        else
            signals[i] = 0
            filteredY[i] = y[i]
        end
        avgFilter[i] = mean(filteredY[i-lag+1:i])
        stdFilter[i] = std(filteredY[i-lag+1:i])
    end
    return (signals = signals, avgFilter = avgFilter, stdFilter = stdFilter)
end


# Data
y = [1,1,1.1,1,0.9,1,1,1.1,1,0.9,1,1.1,1,1,0.9,1,1,1.1,1,1,1,1,1.1,0.9,1,1.1,1,1,0.9,
       1,1.1,1,1,1.1,1,0.8,0.9,1,1.2,0.9,1,1,1.1,1.2,1,1.5,1,3,2,5,3,2,1,1,1,0.9,1,1,3,
       2.6,4,3,3.2,2,1,1,0.8,4,4,2,2.5,1,1,1]

# Settings: lag = 30, threshold = 5, influence = 0
lag = 30
threshold = 5
influence = 0

results = SmoothedZscoreAlgo(y, lag, threshold, influence)
upper_bound = results[:avgFilter] + threshold * results[:stdFilter]
lower_bound = results[:avgFilter] - threshold * results[:stdFilter]
x = 1:length(y)

yplot = plot(x,y,color="blue", label="Y",legend=:topleft)
yplot = plot!(x,upper_bound, color="green", label="Upper Bound",legend=:topleft)
yplot = plot!(x,results[:avgFilter], color="cyan", label="Average Filter",legend=:topleft)
yplot = plot!(x,lower_bound, color="green", label="Lower Bound",legend=:topleft)
signalplot = plot(x,results[:signals],color="red",label="Signals",legend=:topleft)
plot(yplot,signalplot,layout=(2,1),legend=:topleft)

https://i.stack.imgur.com/UolMY.png

Here is my attempt at creating a Ruby solution for the "Smoothed z-score algo" from the accepted answer:

module ThresholdingAlgoMixin
  def mean(array)
    array.reduce(&:+) / array.size.to_f
  end

  def stddev(array)
    array_mean = mean(array)
    Math.sqrt(array.reduce(0.0) { |a, b| a.to_f + ((b.to_f - array_mean) ** 2) } / array.size.to_f)
  end

  def thresholding_algo(lag: 5, threshold: 3.5, influence: 0.5)
    return nil if size < lag * 2
    Array.new(size, 0).tap do |signals|
      filtered = Array.new(self)

      initial_slice = take(lag)
      avg_filter = Array.new(lag - 1, 0.0) + [mean(initial_slice)]
      std_filter = Array.new(lag - 1, 0.0) + [stddev(initial_slice)]
      (lag..size-1).each do |idx|
        prev = idx - 1
        if (fetch(idx) - avg_filter[prev]).abs > threshold * std_filter[prev]
          signals[idx] = fetch(idx) > avg_filter[prev] ? 1 : -1
          filtered[idx] = (influence * fetch(idx)) + ((1-influence) * filtered[prev])
        end

        filtered_slice = filtered[idx-lag..prev]
        avg_filter[idx] = mean(filtered_slice)
        std_filter[idx] = stddev(filtered_slice)
      end
    end
  end
end

And example usage:

test_data = [
  1, 1, 1.1, 1, 0.9, 1, 1, 1.1, 1, 0.9, 1, 1.1, 1, 1, 0.9, 1,
  1, 1.1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1.1, 0.9, 1, 1.1, 1, 1, 0.9, 1, 1.1, 1,
  1, 1.1, 1, 0.8, 0.9, 1, 1.2, 0.9, 1, 1, 1.1, 1.2, 1, 1.5,
  1, 3, 2, 5, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 0.9, 1, 1, 3, 2.6, 4, 3, 3.2, 2,
  1, 1, 0.8, 4, 4, 2, 2.5, 1, 1, 1
].extend(ThresholdingAlgoMixin)

puts test_data.thresholding_algo.inspect

# Output: [
#   0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0,
#   0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, -1, 0, 0, 0,
#   0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1,
#   1, 1, 0, 0, 0, -1, -1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
# ]

Here is an altered Fortran version of the z-score algorithm. It is altered specifically for peak (resonance) detection in transfer functions in frequency space (Each change has a small comment in code).

The first modification gives a warning to the user if there is a resonance near the lower bound of the input vector, indicated by a standard deviation higher than a certain threshold (10% in this case). This simply means the signal is not flat enough for the detection initializing the filters properly.

The second modification is that only the highest value of a peak is added to the found peaks. This is reached by comparing each found peak value to the magnitude of its (lag) predecessors and its (lag) successors.

The third change is to respect that resonance peaks usually show some form of symmetry around the resonance frequency. So it is natural to calculate the mean and std symmetrically around the current data point (rather than just for the predecessors). This results in a better peak detection behavior.

The modifications have the effect that the whole signal has to be known to the function beforehand which is the usual case for resonance detection (something like the Matlab Example of Jean-Paul where the data points are generated on the fly won't work).

function PeakDetect(y,lag,threshold, influence)
    implicit none
    ! Declaring part
    real, dimension(:), intent(in) :: y
    integer, dimension(size(y)) :: PeakDetect
    real, dimension(size(y)) :: filteredY, avgFilter, stdFilter
    integer :: lag, ii
    real :: threshold, influence

    ! Executing part
    PeakDetect = 0
    filteredY = 0.0
    filteredY(1:lag+1) = y(1:lag+1)
    avgFilter = 0.0
    avgFilter(lag+1) = mean(y(1:2*lag+1))
    stdFilter = 0.0
    stdFilter(lag+1) = std(y(1:2*lag+1))

    if (stdFilter(lag+1)/avgFilter(lag+1)>0.1) then ! If the coefficient of variation exceeds 10%, the signal is too uneven at the start, possibly because of a peak.
        write(unit=*,fmt=1001)
1001        format(1X,'Warning: Peak detection might have failed, as there may be a peak at the edge of the frequency range.',/)
    end if
    do ii = lag+2, size(y)
        if (abs(y(ii) - avgFilter(ii-1)) > threshold * stdFilter(ii-1)) then
            ! Find only the largest outstanding value which is only the one greater than its predecessor and its successor
            if (y(ii) > avgFilter(ii-1) .AND. y(ii) > y(ii-1) .AND. y(ii) > y(ii+1)) then
                PeakDetect(ii) = 1
            end if
            filteredY(ii) = influence * y(ii) + (1 - influence) * filteredY(ii-1)
        else
            filteredY(ii) = y(ii)
        end if
        ! Modified with respect to the original code. Mean and standard deviation are calculted symmetrically around the current point
        avgFilter(ii) = mean(filteredY(ii-lag:ii+lag))
        stdFilter(ii) = std(filteredY(ii-lag:ii+lag))
    end do
end function PeakDetect

real function mean(y)
    !> @brief Calculates the mean of vector y
    implicit none
    ! Declaring part
    real, dimension(:), intent(in) :: y
    integer :: N
    ! Executing part
    N = max(1,size(y))
    mean = sum(y)/N
end function mean

real function std(y)
    !> @brief Calculates the standard deviation of vector y
    implicit none
    ! Declaring part
    real, dimension(:), intent(in) :: y
    integer :: N
    ! Executing part
    N = max(1,size(y))
    std = sqrt((N*dot_product(y,y) - sum(y)**2) / (N*(N-1)))
end function std

https://i.stack.imgur.com/1s8QJ.png

An iterative version in python/numpy for answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/22640362/6029703 is here. This code is faster than computing average and standard deviation every lag for large data (100000+).

def peak_detection_smoothed_zscore_v2(x, lag, threshold, influence):
    '''
    iterative smoothed z-score algorithm
    Implementation of algorithm from https://stackoverflow.com/a/22640362/6029703
    '''
    import numpy as np
    labels = np.zeros(len(x))
    filtered_y = np.array(x)
    avg_filter = np.zeros(len(x))
    std_filter = np.zeros(len(x))
    var_filter = np.zeros(len(x))

    avg_filter[lag - 1] = np.mean(x[0:lag])
    std_filter[lag - 1] = np.std(x[0:lag])
    var_filter[lag - 1] = np.var(x[0:lag])
    for i in range(lag, len(x)):
        if abs(x[i] - avg_filter[i - 1]) > threshold * std_filter[i - 1]:
            if x[i] > avg_filter[i - 1]:
                labels[i] = 1
            else:
                labels[i] = -1
            filtered_y[i] = influence * x[i] + (1 - influence) * filtered_y[i - 1]
        else:
            labels[i] = 0
            filtered_y[i] = x[i]
        # update avg, var, std
        avg_filter[i] = avg_filter[i - 1] + 1. / lag * (filtered_y[i] - filtered_y[i - lag])
        var_filter[i] = var_filter[i - 1] + 1. / lag * ((filtered_y[i] - avg_filter[i - 1]) ** 2 - (
            filtered_y[i - lag] - avg_filter[i - 1]) ** 2 - (filtered_y[i] - filtered_y[i - lag]) ** 2 / lag)
        std_filter[i] = np.sqrt(var_filter[i])

    return dict(signals=labels,
                avgFilter=avg_filter,
                stdFilter=std_filter)

Here is a Groovy (Java) implementation of the smoothed z-score algorithm (see answer above).

/**
 * "Smoothed zero-score alogrithm" shamelessly copied from https://stackoverflow.com/a/22640362/6029703
 *  Uses a rolling mean and a rolling deviation (separate) to identify peaks in a vector
 *
 * @param y - The input vector to analyze
 * @param lag - The lag of the moving window (i.e. how big the window is)
 * @param threshold - The z-score at which the algorithm signals (i.e. how many standard deviations away from the moving mean a peak (or signal) is)
 * @param influence - The influence (between 0 and 1) of new signals on the mean and standard deviation (how much a peak (or signal) should affect other values near it)
 * @return - The calculated averages (avgFilter) and deviations (stdFilter), and the signals (signals)
 */

public HashMap<String, List<Object>> thresholdingAlgo(List<Double> y, Long lag, Double threshold, Double influence) {
    //init stats instance
    SummaryStatistics stats = new SummaryStatistics()

    //the results (peaks, 1 or -1) of our algorithm
    List<Integer> signals = new ArrayList<Integer>(Collections.nCopies(y.size(), 0))
    //filter out the signals (peaks) from our original list (using influence arg)
    List<Double> filteredY = new ArrayList<Double>(y)
    //the current average of the rolling window
    List<Double> avgFilter = new ArrayList<Double>(Collections.nCopies(y.size(), 0.0d))
    //the current standard deviation of the rolling window
    List<Double> stdFilter = new ArrayList<Double>(Collections.nCopies(y.size(), 0.0d))
    //init avgFilter and stdFilter
    (0..lag-1).each { stats.addValue(y[it as int]) }
    avgFilter[lag - 1 as int] = stats.getMean()
    stdFilter[lag - 1 as int] = Math.sqrt(stats.getPopulationVariance()) //getStandardDeviation() uses sample variance (not what we want)
    stats.clear()
    //loop input starting at end of rolling window
    (lag..y.size()-1).each { i ->
        //if the distance between the current value and average is enough standard deviations (threshold) away
        if (Math.abs((y[i as int] - avgFilter[i - 1 as int]) as Double) > threshold * stdFilter[i - 1 as int]) {
            //this is a signal (i.e. peak), determine if it is a positive or negative signal
            signals[i as int] = (y[i as int] > avgFilter[i - 1 as int]) ? 1 : -1
            //filter this signal out using influence
            filteredY[i as int] = (influence * y[i as int]) + ((1-influence) * filteredY[i - 1 as int])
        } else {
            //ensure this signal remains a zero
            signals[i as int] = 0
            //ensure this value is not filtered
            filteredY[i as int] = y[i as int]
        }
        //update rolling average and deviation
        (i - lag..i-1).each { stats.addValue(filteredY[it as int] as Double) }
        avgFilter[i as int] = stats.getMean()
        stdFilter[i as int] = Math.sqrt(stats.getPopulationVariance()) //getStandardDeviation() uses sample variance (not what we want)
        stats.clear()
    }

    return [
        signals  : signals,
        avgFilter: avgFilter,
        stdFilter: stdFilter
    ]
}

Below is a test on the same dataset that yields the same results as the above Python / numpy implementation.

    // Data
    def y = [1d, 1d, 1.1d, 1d, 0.9d, 1d, 1d, 1.1d, 1d, 0.9d, 1d, 1.1d, 1d, 1d, 0.9d, 1d, 1d, 1.1d, 1d, 1d,
         1d, 1d, 1.1d, 0.9d, 1d, 1.1d, 1d, 1d, 0.9d, 1d, 1.1d, 1d, 1d, 1.1d, 1d, 0.8d, 0.9d, 1d, 1.2d, 0.9d, 1d,
         1d, 1.1d, 1.2d, 1d, 1.5d, 1d, 3d, 2d, 5d, 3d, 2d, 1d, 1d, 1d, 0.9d, 1d,
         1d, 3d, 2.6d, 4d, 3d, 3.2d, 2d, 1d, 1d, 0.8d, 4d, 4d, 2d, 2.5d, 1d, 1d, 1d]

    // Settings
    def lag = 30
    def threshold = 5
    def influence = 0


    def thresholdingResults = thresholdingAlgo((List<Double>) y, (Long) lag, (Double) threshold, (Double) influence)

    println y.size()
    println thresholdingResults.signals.size()
    println thresholdingResults.signals

    thresholdingResults.signals.eachWithIndex { x, idx ->
        if (x) {
            println y[idx]
        }
    }

Here is a (non-idiomatic) Scala version of the smoothed z-score algorithm:

/**
  * Smoothed zero-score alogrithm shamelessly copied from https://stackoverflow.com/a/22640362/6029703
  * Uses a rolling mean and a rolling deviation (separate) to identify peaks in a vector
  *
  * @param y - The input vector to analyze
  * @param lag - The lag of the moving window (i.e. how big the window is)
  * @param threshold - The z-score at which the algorithm signals (i.e. how many standard deviations away from the moving mean a peak (or signal) is)
  * @param influence - The influence (between 0 and 1) of new signals on the mean and standard deviation (how much a peak (or signal) should affect other values near it)
  * @return - The calculated averages (avgFilter) and deviations (stdFilter), and the signals (signals)
  */
private def smoothedZScore(y: Seq[Double], lag: Int, threshold: Double, influence: Double): Seq[Int] = {
  val stats = new SummaryStatistics()

  // the results (peaks, 1 or -1) of our algorithm
  val signals = mutable.ArrayBuffer.fill(y.length)(0)

  // filter out the signals (peaks) from our original list (using influence arg)
  val filteredY = y.to[mutable.ArrayBuffer]

  // the current average of the rolling window
  val avgFilter = mutable.ArrayBuffer.fill(y.length)(0d)

  // the current standard deviation of the rolling window
  val stdFilter = mutable.ArrayBuffer.fill(y.length)(0d)

  // init avgFilter and stdFilter
  y.take(lag).foreach(s => stats.addValue(s))

  avgFilter(lag - 1) = stats.getMean
  stdFilter(lag - 1) = Math.sqrt(stats.getPopulationVariance) // getStandardDeviation() uses sample variance (not what we want)

  // loop input starting at end of rolling window
  y.zipWithIndex.slice(lag, y.length - 1).foreach {
    case (s: Double, i: Int) =>
      // if the distance between the current value and average is enough standard deviations (threshold) away
      if (Math.abs(s - avgFilter(i - 1)) > threshold * stdFilter(i - 1)) {
        // this is a signal (i.e. peak), determine if it is a positive or negative signal
        signals(i) = if (s > avgFilter(i - 1)) 1 else -1
        // filter this signal out using influence
        filteredY(i) = (influence * s) + ((1 - influence) * filteredY(i - 1))
      } else {
        // ensure this signal remains a zero
        signals(i) = 0
        // ensure this value is not filtered
        filteredY(i) = s
      }

      // update rolling average and deviation
      stats.clear()
      filteredY.slice(i - lag, i).foreach(s => stats.addValue(s))
      avgFilter(i) = stats.getMean
      stdFilter(i) = Math.sqrt(stats.getPopulationVariance) // getStandardDeviation() uses sample variance (not what we want)
  }

  println(y.length)
  println(signals.length)
  println(signals)

  signals.zipWithIndex.foreach {
    case(x: Int, idx: Int) =>
      if (x == 1) {
        println(idx + " " + y(idx))
      }
  }

  val data =
    y.zipWithIndex.map { case (s: Double, i: Int) => Map("x" -> i, "y" -> s, "name" -> "y", "row" -> "data") } ++
    avgFilter.zipWithIndex.map { case (s: Double, i: Int) => Map("x" -> i, "y" -> s, "name" -> "avgFilter", "row" -> "data") } ++
    avgFilter.zipWithIndex.map { case (s: Double, i: Int) => Map("x" -> i, "y" -> (s - threshold * stdFilter(i)), "name" -> "lower", "row" -> "data") } ++
    avgFilter.zipWithIndex.map { case (s: Double, i: Int) => Map("x" -> i, "y" -> (s + threshold * stdFilter(i)), "name" -> "upper", "row" -> "data") } ++
    signals.zipWithIndex.map { case (s: Int, i: Int) => Map("x" -> i, "y" -> s, "name" -> "signal", "row" -> "signal") }

  Vegas("Smoothed Z")
    .withData(data)
    .mark(Line)
    .encodeX("x", Quant)
    .encodeY("y", Quant)
    .encodeColor(
      field="name",
      dataType=Nominal
    )
    .encodeRow("row", Ordinal)
    .show

  return signals
}

Here's a test that returns the same results as the Python and Groovy versions:

val y = List(1d, 1d, 1.1d, 1d, 0.9d, 1d, 1d, 1.1d, 1d, 0.9d, 1d, 1.1d, 1d, 1d, 0.9d, 1d, 1d, 1.1d, 1d, 1d,
  1d, 1d, 1.1d, 0.9d, 1d, 1.1d, 1d, 1d, 0.9d, 1d, 1.1d, 1d, 1d, 1.1d, 1d, 0.8d, 0.9d, 1d, 1.2d, 0.9d, 1d,
  1d, 1.1d, 1.2d, 1d, 1.5d, 1d, 3d, 2d, 5d, 3d, 2d, 1d, 1d, 1d, 0.9d, 1d,
  1d, 3d, 2.6d, 4d, 3d, 3.2d, 2d, 1d, 1d, 0.8d, 4d, 4d, 2d, 2.5d, 1d, 1d, 1d)

val lag = 30
val threshold = 5d
val influence = 0d

smoothedZScore(y, lag, threshold, influence)

https://i.stack.imgur.com/CEbYw.png

Gist here

I needed something like this in my android project. Thought I might give back Kotlin implementation.

/**
* Smoothed zero-score alogrithm shamelessly copied from https://stackoverflow.com/a/22640362/6029703
* Uses a rolling mean and a rolling deviation (separate) to identify peaks in a vector
*
* @param y - The input vector to analyze
* @param lag - The lag of the moving window (i.e. how big the window is)
* @param threshold - The z-score at which the algorithm signals (i.e. how many standard deviations away from the moving mean a peak (or signal) is)
* @param influence - The influence (between 0 and 1) of new signals on the mean and standard deviation (how much a peak (or signal) should affect other values near it)
* @return - The calculated averages (avgFilter) and deviations (stdFilter), and the signals (signals)
*/
fun smoothedZScore(y: List<Double>, lag: Int, threshold: Double, influence: Double): Triple<List<Int>, List<Double>, List<Double>> {
    val stats = SummaryStatistics()
    // the results (peaks, 1 or -1) of our algorithm
    val signals = MutableList<Int>(y.size, { 0 })
    // filter out the signals (peaks) from our original list (using influence arg)
    val filteredY = ArrayList<Double>(y)
    // the current average of the rolling window
    val avgFilter = MutableList<Double>(y.size, { 0.0 })
    // the current standard deviation of the rolling window
    val stdFilter = MutableList<Double>(y.size, { 0.0 })
    // init avgFilter and stdFilter
    y.take(lag).forEach { s -> stats.addValue(s) }
    avgFilter[lag - 1] = stats.mean
    stdFilter[lag - 1] = Math.sqrt(stats.populationVariance) // getStandardDeviation() uses sample variance (not what we want)
    stats.clear()
    //loop input starting at end of rolling window
    (lag..y.size - 1).forEach { i ->
        //if the distance between the current value and average is enough standard deviations (threshold) away
        if (Math.abs(y[i] - avgFilter[i - 1]) > threshold * stdFilter[i - 1]) {
            //this is a signal (i.e. peak), determine if it is a positive or negative signal
            signals[i] = if (y[i] > avgFilter[i - 1]) 1 else -1
            //filter this signal out using influence
            filteredY[i] = (influence * y[i]) + ((1 - influence) * filteredY[i - 1])
        } else {
            //ensure this signal remains a zero
            signals[i] = 0
            //ensure this value is not filtered
            filteredY[i] = y[i]
        }
        //update rolling average and deviation
        (i - lag..i - 1).forEach { stats.addValue(filteredY[it]) }
        avgFilter[i] = stats.getMean()
        stdFilter[i] = Math.sqrt(stats.getPopulationVariance()) //getStandardDeviation() uses sample variance (not what we want)
        stats.clear()
    }
    return Triple(signals, avgFilter, stdFilter)
}

sample project with verification graphs can be found at github.

https://i.stack.imgur.com/YhJZSm.png

If you have got your data in a database table, here is a SQL version of a simple z-score algorithm:

with data_with_zscore as (
    select
        date_time,
        value,
        value / (avg(value) over ()) as pct_of_mean,
        (value - avg(value) over ()) / (stdev(value) over ()) as z_score
    from {{tablename}}  where datetime > '2018-11-26' and datetime < '2018-12-03'
)


-- select all
select * from data_with_zscore 

-- select only points greater than a certain threshold
select * from data_with_zscore where z_score > abs(2)

I allowed myself to create a javascript version of it. Might it be helpful. The javascript should be direct transcription of the Pseudocode given above. Available as npm package and github repo:

https://github.com/crux/smoothed-z-score

@joe_six/smoothed-z-score-peak-signal-detection

Javascript translation:

// javascript port of: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/22583391/peak-signal-detection-in-realtime-timeseries-data/48895639#48895639

function sum(a) {
    return a.reduce((acc, val) => acc + val)
}

function mean(a) {
    return sum(a) / a.length
}

function stddev(arr) {
    const arr_mean = mean(arr)
    const r = function(acc, val) {
        return acc + ((val - arr_mean) * (val - arr_mean))
    }
    return Math.sqrt(arr.reduce(r, 0.0) / arr.length)
}

function smoothed_z_score(y, params) {
    var p = params || {}
    // init cooefficients
    const lag = p.lag || 5
    const threshold = p.threshold || 3.5
    const influence = p.influece || 0.5

    if (y === undefined || y.length < lag + 2) {
        throw ` ## y data array to short(${y.length}) for given lag of ${lag}`
    }
    //console.log(`lag, threshold, influence: ${lag}, ${threshold}, ${influence}`)

    // init variables
    var signals = Array(y.length).fill(0)
    var filteredY = y.slice(0)
    const lead_in = y.slice(0, lag)
    //console.log("1: " + lead_in.toString())

    var avgFilter = []
    avgFilter[lag - 1] = mean(lead_in)
    var stdFilter = []
    stdFilter[lag - 1] = stddev(lead_in)
    //console.log("2: " + stdFilter.toString())

    for (var i = lag; i < y.length; i++) {
        //console.log(`${y[i]}, ${avgFilter[i-1]}, ${threshold}, ${stdFilter[i-1]}`)
        if (Math.abs(y[i] - avgFilter[i - 1]) > (threshold * stdFilter[i - 1])) {
            if (y[i] > avgFilter[i - 1]) {
                signals[i] = +1 // positive signal
            } else {
                signals[i] = -1 // negative signal
            }
            // make influence lower
            filteredY[i] = influence * y[i] + (1 - influence) * filteredY[i - 1]
        } else {
            signals[i] = 0 // no signal
            filteredY[i] = y[i]
        }

        // adjust the filters
        const y_lag = filteredY.slice(i - lag, i)
        avgFilter[i] = mean(y_lag)
        stdFilter[i] = stddev(y_lag)
    }

    return signals
}

module.exports = smoothed_z_score

If the boundary value or other criteria depends on future values, then the only solution (without a time-machine, or other knowledge of future values) is to delay any decision until one has sufficient future values. If you want a level above a mean that spans, for example, 20 points, then you have to wait until you have at least 19 points ahead of any peak decision, or else the next new point could completely throw off your threshold 19 points ago.

Added: If the statistical distribution of the peak heights could be heavy tailed, instead of Uniform or Gaussian, then you may need to wait until you see several thousand peaks before it starts to become unlikely that a hidden Pareto distribution won't produce a peak many times larger than any you currently have seen before or have in your current plot. Unless you somehow know in advance that the very next point can't be 1e20, it could appear, which after rescaling your plot's Y dimension, would be flat up until that point.

I think that delica's Python anwser has a bug in it. I can't comment on his post since I do not have the rep to do it and the edit queue is full so I am probably not the first one to notice it.

avgFilter[lag - 1] and stdFilter[lag - 1] are set in the init and then are being set again when lag == i instead of changing the [lag] value. This result to the first signal to always be 1.

Here is the code with the minor correction :

import numpy as np

class real_time_peak_detection():
    def __init__(self, array, lag, threshold, influence):
        self.y = list(array)
        self.length = len(self.y)
        self.lag = lag
        self.threshold = threshold
        self.influence = influence
        self.signals = [0] * len(self.y)
        self.filteredY = np.array(self.y).tolist()
        self.avgFilter = [0] * len(self.y)
        self.stdFilter = [0] * len(self.y)
        self.avgFilter[self.lag - 1] = np.mean(self.y[0:self.lag]).tolist()
        self.stdFilter[self.lag - 1] = np.std(self.y[0:self.lag]).tolist()

    def thresholding_algo(self, new_value):
        self.y.append(new_value)
        i = len(self.y) - 1
        self.length = len(self.y)
        if i < self.lag:
            return 0
        elif i == self.lag:
            self.signals = [0] * len(self.y)
            self.filteredY = np.array(self.y).tolist()
            self.avgFilter = [0] * len(self.y)
            self.stdFilter = [0] * len(self.y)
            self.avgFilter[self.lag] = np.mean(self.y[0:self.lag]).tolist()
            self.stdFilter[self.lag] = np.std(self.y[0:self.lag]).tolist()
            return 0

        self.signals += [0]
        self.filteredY += [0]
        self.avgFilter += [0]
        self.stdFilter += [0]

        if abs(self.y[i] - self.avgFilter[i - 1]) > self.threshold * self.stdFilter[i - 1]:
            if self.y[i] > self.avgFilter[i - 1]:
                self.signals[i] = 1
            else:
                self.signals[i] = -1

            self.filteredY[i] = self.influence * self.y[i] + (1 - self.influence) * self.filteredY[i - 1]
            self.avgFilter[i] = np.mean(self.filteredY[(i - self.lag):i])
            self.stdFilter[i] = np.std(self.filteredY[(i - self.lag):i])
        else:
            self.signals[i] = 0
            self.filteredY[i] = self.y[i]
            self.avgFilter[i] = np.mean(self.filteredY[(i - self.lag):i])
            self.stdFilter[i] = np.std(self.filteredY[(i - self.lag):i])

        return self.signals[i]

This z-scores method is quite effective at peak detection, which is also helpful for outlier removal. Outlier conversations frequently debate statistical value of each point and ethics of changing data.

But in the case of repeated, erroneous sensor values from error-prone serial communications or an error-prone sensor, there is no statistical value in errors, or spurious readings. They need to be identified and removed.

Visually the errors are obvious. The straight lines across the plot below shows what needs removing. But identifying and removing errors with an algorithm is quite challenging. Z-scores work well.

The figure below has values acquired from a sensor via serial communications. Occasional serial communication errors, sensor error or both lead to repeated, clearly erroneous data points.

The z-score peak detector was able to signal on spurious data points and generated a clean resulting data set while preserving the features of the correct data:

https://i.stack.imgur.com/rykCR.jpg

And here comes the PHP implementation of the ZSCORE algo:

<?php
$y = array(1,7,1.1,1,0.9,1,1,1.1,1,0.9,1,1.1,1,1,0.9,1,1,1.1,1,1,1,1,1.1,0.9,1,1.1,1,1,0.9,
       1,1.1,1,1,1.1,1,0.8,0.9,1,1.2,0.9,1,1,1.1,1.2,1,1.5,10,3,2,5,3,2,1,1,1,0.9,1,1,3,
       2.6,4,3,3.2,2,1,1,0.8,4,4,2,2.5,1,1,1);

function mean($data, $start, $len) {
    $avg = 0;
    for ($i = $start; $i < $start+ $len; $i ++)
        $avg += $data[$i];
    return $avg / $len;
}
    
function stddev($data, $start,$len) {
    $mean = mean($data,$start,$len);
    $dev = 0;
    for ($i = $start; $i < $start+$len; $i++) 
        $dev += (($data[$i] - $mean) * ($data[$i] - $mean));
    return sqrt($dev / $len);
}

function zscore($data, $len, $lag= 20, $threshold = 1, $influence = 1) {

    $signals = array();
    $avgFilter = array();
    $stdFilter = array();
    $filteredY = array();
    $avgFilter[$lag - 1] = mean($data, 0, $lag);
    $stdFilter[$lag - 1] = stddev($data, 0, $lag);
    
    for ($i = 0; $i < $len; $i++) {
        $filteredY[$i] = $data[$i];
        $signals[$i] = 0;
    }


    for ($i=$lag; $i < $len; $i++) {
        if (abs($data[$i] - $avgFilter[$i-1]) > $threshold * $stdFilter[$lag - 1]) {
            if ($data[$i] > $avgFilter[$i-1]) {
                $signals[$i] = 1;
            }
            else {
                $signals[$i] = -1;
            }
            $filteredY[$i] = $influence * $data[$i] + (1 - $influence) * $filteredY[$i-1];
        } 
        else {
            $signals[$i] = 0;
            $filteredY[$i] = $data[$i];
        }
        
        $avgFilter[$i] = mean($filteredY, $i - $lag, $lag);
        $stdFilter[$i] = stddev($filteredY, $i - $lag, $lag);
    }
    return $signals;
}

$sig = zscore($y, count($y));

print_r($y); echo "<br><br>";
print_r($sig); echo "<br><br>";

for ($i = 0; $i < count($y); $i++) echo $i. " " . $y[$i]. " ". $sig[$i]."<br>";

Dart version of @Jean-Paul Smoothed Z Score algorithm:

class SmoothedZScore {
  int lag = 5;
  num threshold = 10;
  num influence = 0.5;

  num sum(List<num> a) {
    num s = 0;
    for (int i = 0; i < a.length; i++) s += a[i];
    return s;
  }

  num mean(List<num> a) {
    return sum(a) / a.length;
  }

  num stddev(List<num> arr) {
    num arrMean = mean(arr);
    num dev = 0;
    for (int i = 0; i < arr.length; i++) dev += (arr[i] - arrMean) * (arr[i] - arrMean);
    return sqrt(dev / arr.length);
  }

  List<int> smoothedZScore(List<num> y) {
    if (y.length < lag + 2) {
      throw 'y data array too short($y.length) for given lag of $lag';
    }

    // init variables
    List<int> signals = List.filled(y.length, 0);
    List<num> filteredY = List<num>.from(y);
    List<num> leadIn = y.sublist(0, lag);

    var avgFilter = List<num>.filled(y.length, 0);
    var stdFilter = List<num>.filled(y.length, 0);
    avgFilter[lag - 1] = mean(leadIn);
    stdFilter[lag - 1] = stddev(leadIn);

    for (var i = lag; i < y.length; i++) {
      if ((y[i] - avgFilter[i - 1]).abs() > (threshold * stdFilter[i - 1])) {
        signals[i] = y[i] > avgFilter[i - 1] ? 1 : -1;
        // make influence lower
        filteredY[i] = influence * y[i] + (1 - influence) * filteredY[i - 1];
      } else {
        signals[i] = 0; // no signal
        filteredY[i] = y[i];
      }

      // adjust the filters
      List<num> yLag = filteredY.sublist(i - lag, i);
      avgFilter[i] = mean(yLag);
      stdFilter[i] = stddev(yLag);
    }

    return signals;
  }
}