This study provides a general introduction to the principles, algorithms and practice of Computational Intelligence (CI) and elaborates on their use to signal processing and time series. In this setting, we discuss the main technologies of Computational Intelligence (namely, neural networks, fuzzy sets or Granular Computing, and evolutionary optimization), identify their focal points and stress an overall synergistic character, which ultimately gives rise to the highly synergistic CI environment. Furthermore, the main advantages and limitations of the CI technologies are discussed. In the sequel, we present CI-oriented constructs in signal modeling, classification, and interpretation. (C) 2014 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.