The use of an off-the-shelf general purpose processing system supplied by Giga Operations as applied to real-time video applications is described. The system is modular enough to be used in many scientific and industrial applications and powerful enough to maintain the throughput required for real-time video processing. This hardware and the associated programming environment has enabled InterScience to pursue research in real-time data compression, real-time Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry (ESPI) image processing, and industrial quality control and manufacturing. The system is based on Xilinx 4000 series field programmable gate arrays with associated static and dynamic random access memory in an architecture optimized for video processing on either the VL-Bus or PCI. This paper will focus on the design and development of a real-time frame subtractor for ESPI using this technology. Examples of the improvement in research capability provided by real-time frame subtraction are shown, including images from biomedical experiments. Further applications, based on this system are described. These include real-time data compression, quality control for production lines as part of an automated inspection system and a multi-camera security system allowing motion estimation to automatically prioritize camera selection.

Date Published: 3 April 1997
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 3028, Real-Time Imaging II, (3 April 1997); doi: 10.1117/12.270336

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 3028:
Real-Time Imaging II
Divyendu Sinha, Editor(s)