A development system for creating real-time machine vision hardware using field programmable gate arrays

In this paper, we introduce a new development system for creating real-time image processing hardware using custom computing machines with multiple Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) chips. Three distinct processes are accomplished within the development system: design entry, verification, and translation. A library of modules that implement common low-level machine vision functions is used to create complex designs based on a dataflow graph representation. The library's low-level image processing modules contain both gate-level and chip-level hardware components, of which the gate-level components are compiled into the functionality of available FPGA chips. Standard interfaces are established for input/output of the modules, allowing for the creation of sophisticated software support tools. Experimental results verify the utility of this development system for easily creating real-time machine vision hardware using multiple FPGA-based custom computing machines.