Development of a Versatile Reconfigurable Computing Platform for Surveillance and Seeker Applications

Typical surveillance and seeker information processing platforms today use general-purpose computer architectures or custom, application specific architectures to execute signal-processing algorithms specific to a particular application (image/signal processing, data compression, encryption/decryption). The commodity architecture severely limits performance of computationally intensive applications by forcing the software programs to use a rigid architecture not optimized for any specific application. The custom architectures are inflexible with long and costly development cycles. SRC Computers Inc. has successfully fielded a new computer architecture that combines reconfigurable hardware with standard microprocessors to provide reconfigurability while maintaining standard programming models and languages. The system is programmed through the use of standard C or FORTRAN programming languages, making the architecture transparent to the programmer. SRC's reconfigurable computing system can support a broad range of high-performance applications, including demanding data processing applications such as those needed surveillance and seeker platforms. For this Phase I effort, Tessera, Inc. along with SRC Computers Inc. propose to survey MDA surveillance and seeker platforms and with the cooperation of a surveillance or seeker system supplier develop a design for a compact reconfigurable computer, based on SRC architecture, compatible with SRC compiler and software tools to be integrated into a selected platform. To meet the form-factor and environmental requirements, Tessera will apply its proven advanced system packaging and chip interconnect technologies to allow a miniaturized modular reconfigurable computing platform suitable for the application.