A Codesign Tool for High Level Systhesis of Vision Models on FPL

This paper presents a synthesis tool for the automatic translation and optimization of bioinspired vision models into a FPL implementation. The software allows functional simulation and high level specification of the model, and produces a data-flow model using VHDL, which is synthesizable with different lower-level synthesis tools and for various FPGA technologies. The proposed design platform extends the features of the codesign environment CodeSimulink for implementing visual processing systems, starting from purely functional specifications. An optimization strategy based on the calculation of the Pareto front is also introduced to perform a multi-objective minimization of both, the circuit area and the root mean square of the computation error. Performance measurements for the FPL implementation of an example retina-like vision model on a FPGA-based PCI board are provided