PIPE: A Parallel Processor For Dynamic Image Processing

Abstract

This paper will describe PIPE and how its capabilities can be used for applications involving moving, dynamic imagery. PIPE is a high performance parallel processor with an architecture specifically designed for the processing of video images at up to 60 fields per second. The unit is modular and programmable. It can process sequences of images with multiple parallel stages. Multiple data pathways between the stages in forward, recursive and backward directions allow images to interact in many useful ways. Due to its architecture, PIPE inherently allows the processing of many images simultaneously for working with dynamic scenes or multiple combinations of the same image. Originally designed for robot guidance applications, PIPE has many features that make it well suited for use in other applications where the input images are moving. Illustrations of three types of dynamic image processing examples will be presented in this paper.