Computer vision for robotics using a transputer array

Describes a transputer array system developed under the Alvey ParSiFal project and used for vision processing in a SERC/ACME project on automatic robotic assembly as well as for research into speech recognition. The transputer array of 't-rack' consists of 64 T800-20 transputers, each with 1 MB of memory and each with two links daisy-chained to the SUN host via a 'Tadpole Board' controller for program down-loading and data transfer. The other links of each transputer are taken to two cross bar switches for configuring the array. In some applications OCCAM is used but much of the work uses C and the system is networked under Unix. In the vision work data is acquired by a VME-based framestore unit (Seescan Imaging) at 8*512*512 resolution and transferred to the t-rack by a VME/DMA to transputer link card. This fans the input data stream out to 4 links and achieves a data rate of 6 frames per second. Two vision processing applications are presented.<
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