Real-Time Image Vector Processor: RTIVP

The Proposed Innovation is real-time hardware for image processing, image understanding and machine vision that will achieve significant performance increases over current systems by implementing a set of operations required to support a specific set of algorithms. These algorithms are intended to process and analyze multiple, parallel partial derivative images or "Jet bundles" which provide a framework for describing the local structure of objects in images at a point. The goal of Phase I of this project is to perform the technical research and detailed engineering design of a second stage system to selectively analyze the resulting partial derivative jet bundles from a first stage processor. It will use both top-down and bottom-up control strategies to selectively perform linear and non-linear vector and matrix operations on the jet bundles. It will perform these algorithms at real-time video frame rates. In its final implementation, it will achieve orders of magnitude performance increases over currently available systems by implementing only the operations required to support a specific set of algorithms.