FPGA implementation of pipelined architecture for SPIHT algorithm

This paper presents a throughput efficient FPGA implementation of the `Set Partitioning in Hierarchical Trees' (SPIHT) algorithm for compression of images. The SPIHT uses inherent redundancy among wavelet coefficients and suited for both gray and color images. The SPIHT algorithm uses dynamic data structures which hinders hardware realization. In this FPGA implementation have modified basic SPIHT in two ways, one by using static (fixed) mappings which represent significant information and the other by interchanging the sorting and refinement passes. A hardware realization is done in a Xilinx XC3S200 device. The SPIHT algorithm can be applied to both grey-scale and colored images. SPIHT displays exceptional characteristics over several properties like good image quality, fast coding and decoding, a fully progressive bit stream, application in lossless compression, error protection and ability to code for exact bit rate.