FPGA or Cell for an Image Processing Application

Modern advancements in configurable hardware, most notably field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) have provided an exciting opportunity to discover the parallel nature of modern image processing algorithms. On the other hand, PlayStation3 (PS3) game consoles contain a multi-core heterogeneous processor known as the cell, which is designed to perform complex image processing algorithms at a high-performance level. All the while, image processing algorithms are still coded for off-the-shelf computers, such as the state-of-the-art Xeon-based computer systems. In this research project, we study the differences in performance of a modern image processing algorithm on three hardware platforms. We show that the heterogenous cell based PS3 is able to outperform a state-of-the-art Xeon processor by 7.7 times. However, our results on an FPGA are 2.5 times better than the PS3. Although the cell processor greatly outperforms the Xeon processor, the FPGA is the leader in performance.