FPGA based multiprocessor embedded system for real-time image processing

In this paper, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) based multiprocessor architecture is proposed for real-time image processing. The system is developed based on a hardware-software co-design philosophy. A total of five soft-core MicroBlaze processors are configured in master-slave topology and furnished with BRAM cores. A frame grabbing and a serial port cores are developed for camera and PC interfacing, respectively. Each processor can be configured to perform a certain task and all processors operate in parallel, hence providing high speed computing desirable for real-time image processing. The validity of the proposed embedded platform, realized on an XtremeDSP Development Kit-IV, is demonstrated by grabbing and processing real-time images.