FFT-based spectrum analysis in the case of data loss

The significance of measurement data transfer over unreliable channel has emerged in the last decade, due to the spread of sensor networks and the idea of Internet of things. The paper investigates the behavior of the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) based power spectral density (PSD) estimation in the case of data loss. There are different methods available to estimate the PSD, but the hegemony of the FFT is beyond dispute, especially in real-time applications. The paper investigates the behavior of the PSD estimator in the case of different data loss models, then offers some simple solutions how the data loss can be handled in PSD estimation, when only moderate computing resources are available.