Finding lines and building pyramids with SPLASH 2

This paper describes the design and implementation of two image-processing algorithms using the SPLASH 2 custom computing platform. SPLASH 2 is a reconfigurable system that can be tailored to perform a wide variety of tasks. The particular tasks discussed here are the Hough transform. A well-known technique for detecting lines in an image, and pyramid generation. The process of transforming a single image into a set of filtered images with successively lower spatial resolution. This paper describes how these computationally intensive processes have been mapped onto SPLASH 2 hardware. Both processes have been designed to operate at high speed. In particular, the generation of both Gaussian (low-pass) and Laplacian (band-pass) pyramids can occur concurrently in real time using images from a video camera, assuming the standard frame rate of 30 images per second. Results are presented to illustrate the efficacy of reconfigurable FPGA-based machines to image processing applications