Feature Detection and Description based on ORB Algorithm for FPGA-based Image Processing

Feature detection and description is a key concept of image processing and computer vision. Oriented FAST and Rotated BRIEF (ORB) algorithm is one of feature detector and descriptor that is widely used in image stitching and registration systems such as simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) systems. ORB algorithm has improved the speed of processing and robustness. It has scale-invariance and rotational invariance properties. However, there are some obstacles to implement on low-power devices such as its high computational intensity. This paper presents the feature detection and description algorithm based on ORB algorithm which adopted parallel and pipeline techniques to accelerate the system and be beneficial for designing FPGA architecture. Compared with the results obtained by cv.ORB() function, the proposed algorithm improves the parallelism and reduces the operation of the process but could maintain the consistency of the corner numbers and the accuracy.