Application specific instruction-set processor template for motion estimation in video applications

The gap between application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and general-purpose programmable processors in terms of performance, power, cost and flexibility is well known. Application specific instruction-set processors (ASIPs) bridge this gap. In this work, we demonstrate the key benefits of ASIPs for several video applications. One of the most compute- and memory-intensive functions in video processing is motion estimation (ME). The focus of this work is on the design of a ME template, which is useful for several video applications like video encoding, obstacle detection, picturerate up-conversion, 2-D-to-3-D video conversion, etc. An instruction-set suitable for performing a variety of ME functions is developed. The ASIP is based on a very long instruction word (VLIW) processor template and meets low-power and low-cost requirements still providing the flexibility needed for the application domain. The ME ASIP design consumes 27 mW and takes an area of 1.1 mm/sup 2/ in 0.13 /spl mu/m technology performing picturerate up-conversion, for standard definition (CCIR601) resolution at 50 frames per second.