The 2 Pole Super Smoother Filter is a baseline indicator choice. This indicator was developed by John Ehlers and was discussed at length in his book “Cybernetic Analysis For Stocks And Futures”, published in 2004. His “Smoother” indicators (there are a few) are based on a concept called Butterworth Filters, which is a type of signal processing filter designed to have as flat frequency response as possible and are one of the most commonly used digital filters in motion analysis and in audio circuits.
For the trading world, Mr. Ehlers has been able to use the mathematical concepts of the Butterworth Filter as an alternative to the EMA (Exponential Moving Average) and SMA (Simple Moving Average) to detect trends. The indicator’s objective is to produce a smoother average with a minimum of lag by filtering out excessive market noise, and providing an indication of market direction.