The application of the multiprocessor to the camera-guided patrolling vehicle

We design and implement an 8 node multiprocessor applied to a camera guided patrolling vehicle. The vehicle uses the middle line of the road as a guiding mark. The image of the road is grabbed and passed to the shared system memory by one node of the multiprocessor. The system memory with the priority encoder and rotator can be accessed by four nodes of the multiprocessor for image processing. The pixel coordinates of the image are calibrated with the road surface under certain conditions for guidance purposes. The sixth node is responsible for RS232C radio communications with the laboratory. It can transmit the calculated image data to the lab and/or receive the commands from the lab in case of emergency. The monitored environmental image is transmitted to the laboratory by analog radio. The seventh node takes care of obstacle avoidance with ultrasound. The eighth node is responsible for motor control of the vehicle. The commands are issued from other nodes through the hand shaking communications of Intel´s 8255 chip. Each node has an Intel 8259 chip for instantaneous interrupt service. The performance of both the multiprocessor and the patrolling vehicle is evaluated