Hardware Considerations for Embedded Vision Systems

Abstract

Image processing and computer vision do not start with a frame in the frame buffer. Embedded vision systems need to consider the entire real-time vision pipeline from image acquisition to result output, including the operations that are to be performed on the images. This chapter gives an overview of this pipeline and the involved hardware components. It discusses several types of image sensors as well as their readout styles, speeds, and interface styles. Interconnection options for such sensors are presented with low-voltage differential signaling highlighted due to performance and prevalence. Typical image operations are overviewed in the context of an embedded system containing one or more sensors and their interfaces. Several hardware storage and processing components (including DSPs, various systemon- a-chip combinations, FPGAs, GPUs, and memories) are explained as building blocks from which a vision system might be realized. Component-to-component relationships, data and control pathways, and signaling methods between and among these components are discussed, and specific organizational approaches are compared and contrasted.