GEZGIN & GEZGIN-2: Adaptive Real-Time Image Processing Subsystems for Earth Observing Small Satellites

GEZGIN and GEZGIN-2 are real-time multi-spectral image processing subsystems developed for BILSAT-1 and RASAT satellites respectively, the first two Earth observing small satellites of Turkey. Main functionality of these subsystems is to compress in real-time multi-spectral images received concurrently from imagers, using JPEG2000 image compression algorithm. The compression features are controlled through user-supplied parameters uploaded in-orbit, so that the compression rate could be adapted to bandwidth, image quality and other mission requirements. GEZGIN employs both reconfigurable hardware and a DSP processor for image processing, where as the more advanced GEZGIN-2 contains full integration of the JPEG2000 processing path plus other image pre-processing features on reconfigurable hardware, hence offering increased performance and full reconfigurability in orbit. Both systems demonstrate space-tailored architectures for implementing image processing functions where adaptability becomes the crucial issue determining robustness, flexibility and survivability of the system