An FPGA-based architecture for linear and morphological image filtering

Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology has become a viable target for the implementation of real time algorithms suited to video image processing applications. The unique architecture of the FPGA has allowed the technology to be used in many applications encompassing all aspects of video image processing. Among those algorithms, linear filtering based on a 2D convolution, and non-linear 2D morphological filters, represent a basic set of image operations for a number of applications. In this work, an implementation of linear and morphological image filtering using a FPGA NexysII, Xilinx, Spartan 3E, with educational purposes, is presented. The system is connected to a USB port of a personal computer, which in that way form a powerful and low-cost design station. The FPGA-based system is accessed through a Matlab graphical user interface, which handles the communication setup. A comparison between results obtained from MATLAB simulations and the described FPGA-based implementation is presented.