Recent advancements in sensing, measurement, and computing technologies
have significantly expanded the potential for signal-based applications,
leveraging the synergy between signal processing and Machine Learning
(ML) to improve both performance and reliability. This fusion represents
a critical point in the evolution of signal-based systems, highlighting
the need to bridge the existing knowledge gap between these two
interdisciplinary fields. Despite many attempts in the existing
literature to bridge this gap, most are limited to specific applications
and focus mainly on feature extraction, often assuming extensive prior
knowledge in signal processing. This assumption creates a significant
obstacle for a wide range of readers. To address these challenges, this
paper takes an integrated article approach. It begins with a detailed
tutorial on the fundamentals of signal processing, providing the reader
with the necessary background knowledge. Following this, it explores the
key stages of a standard signal processing-based ML pipeline, offering
an in-depth review of feature extraction techniques, their inherent
challenges, and solutions. Differing from existing literature, this work
offers an application-independent review and introduces a novel
classification taxonomy for feature extraction techniques. Furthermore,
it aims at linking theoretical concepts with practical applications, and
demonstrates this through two specific use cases: a spectral-based
method for condition monitoring of rolling bearings and a wavelet energy
analysis for epilepsy detection using EEG signals. In addition to
theoretical contributions, this work promotes a collaborative research
culture by providing a public repository of relevant Python and MATLAB
signal processing codes. This effort is intended to support
collaborative research efforts and ensure the reproducibility of the
results presented.