Real-time image processing on a local plane SIMD array

Real-time image processing applications have tremendous computational workloads and I/O throughput requirements. Operation in mobile, portable devices poses stringent resource limitations (size, weight, and power). The SIMD Pixel Processor (SIMPil) has been designed at Georgia Tech to address these problems. In SIMPil, an image sensor array (focal plane) is integrated on top of a SIMD computing layer, where processing elements (PEs) are connected in a torus. A prototype processing element has been implemented in 0.8 μm CMOS technology. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the SIMPil design on a set of important image applications. A target SIMPil system is described, which is capable of operating in the Tops/sec range in Gigascale technology. Simulation results indicate sustained operation throughput in the range of 100–1000 Gops/sec. These results support the design choices and suggest that more complex, multistage applications can be implemented to execute at real-time frame rates.