REPLICA--A reconfigurable partitionable highly parallel computer architecture for active multi-sensory perception of 3-dimensional objects

REPLICA is a special-purpose computer architecture for active multi-sensory perception of 3-D objects. Active multisensory perception of 3-D objects means the ability to manipulate and probe objects as well as to see, hear, and touch them, where the objects involved may be static, changing or in motion. It is becoming an important area in robotics research. In order to support active multi-sensory perception efficiently, the system must be highly parallel, reconfigurable, and partitionable. The ability to achieve these functional requirements depends strongly on the capabilities and flexibilities of the underlying interconnection networks. In this paper, the architecture of REPLICA is presented and a set of interconnection networks is proposed. This set consists of a capability-enhanced cross-bar switch for controller-processor communications and a set of bidirectional rings for processor-processor communications. This set of interconnection networks support the required flexibilities in partitioning and reconfiguration. The cost of these networks can also be kept low.