Dynamically variable step search motion estimation algorithm and a dynamically reconfigurable hardware for its implementation

Motion Estimation (ME) is the most computationally intensive part of video compression and video enhancement systems. For the recently available High Definition (HD) video formats, the computational complexity of De full search (FS) ME algorithm is prohibitively high, whereas the PSNR obtained by fast search ME algorithms is low. Therefore, ill this paper, we present Dynamically Variable Step Search (DVSS) ME algorithm for Processing high definition video formats and a dynamically reconfigurable hardware efficiently implementing DVSS algorithm. The architecture for efficiently implementing DVSS algorithm. The simulation results showed that DVSS algorithm performs very close to FS algorithm by searching much fewer search locations than FS algorithm and it outperforms successful past search ME algorithms by searching more search locations than these algorithms. The proposed hardware is implemented in VHDL and is capable, of processing high definition video formats in real time. Therefore, it can be used in consumer electronics products for video compression, frame rate up-conversion and de-interlacing(1)

Fuzzy logic-based embedded system for video de-interlacing

Video de-interlacing algorithms perform a crucial task in video processing. Despite these algorithms are developed using software implementations, their implementations in hardware are required to achieve real-time operation. This paper describes the development of an embedded system for video de-interlacing. The algorithm for video de-interlacing uses three fuzzy logic-based systems to tackle three relevant features in video sequences: motion, edges, and picture repetition. The proposed strategy implements the algorithm as a hardware IP core on a FPGA-based embedded system. The paper details the proposed architecture and the design methodology to develop it. The resulting embedded system is verified on a FPGA development board and it is able to de-interlace in real-tim

Efficient hardware architectures for MPEG-4 core profile

Efficient hardware acceleration architectures are proposed for the most demandingMPEG-4 core profile algorithms, namely; texture motion estimation (TME), binary motion estimation (BME)and the shape adaptive discrete cosine transform (SA-DCT). The proposed ME designs may also be used for H.264, since both architectures can handle variable block sizes. Both ME architectures employ early termination techniques that reduce latency and save needless memory accesses and power consumption. They also use a pixel subsampling technique to facilitate parallelism, while balancing the computational load. The BME datapath also saves operations by using Run Length Coded (RLC) pixel addressing. The SA-DCT module has a re-configuring multiplier-less serial datapath using adders and multiplexers only to improve area and power. The SA-DCT packing steps are done using a minimal switching addressing scheme with guarded evaluation. All three modules have been synthesised targeting the WildCard-II FPGA benchmarking platform adopted by the MPEG-4 Part9 reference hardware group

FPGA-based implementation of a fuzzy motion adaptive de-interlacing algorithm

This paper surveys the hardware implementation of a de-interlacing algorithm on Field-Programmable Technology for real-time processing. The algorithm presented evaluates the level of motion at each pixel, and determines the interpolation between a spatial and a temporal method according to the presence of motion. To achieve it the algorithm employs an hierarchical structure with three simple fuzzy systems. The first one performs a set of fuzzy rules to apply reasoning in order to detect motion; the second one selects the most convenient direction to implement an edge-dependent line average method; and the third one is used to choose the most adequate temporal method. The hardware implementation of this algorithm combines pipeline architecture with a parallel processing of fuzzy rules to accelerate the computation. As result an efficient implementation is developed in terms of computational time and hardware cos

Energy-efficient acceleration of MPEG-4 compression tools

We propose novel hardware accelerator architectures for the most computationally demanding algorithms of the MPEG-4 video compression standard-motion estimation, binary motion estimation (for shape coding), and the forward/inverse discrete cosine transforms (incorporating shape adaptive modes). These accelerators have been designed using general low-energy design philosophies at the algorithmic/architectural abstraction levels. The themes of these philosophies are avoiding waste and trading area/performance for power and energy gains. Each core has been synthesised targeting TSMC 0.09 μm TCBN90LP technology, and the experimental results presented in this paper show that the proposed cores improve upon the prior art

Adaptive deinterlacing of video sequences using motion data

In this work an efficient motion adaptive deinterlacing method with considerable improvement in picture quality is proposed. A temporal deinterlacing method has a high performance in static images while a spatial method has a better performance in dynamic parts. In the proposed deinterlacing method, a motion adaptive interpolator combines the results of a spatial method and a temporal method based on motion activity level of video sequence. A high performance and low complexity algorithm for motion detection is introduced. This algorithm uses five consecutive interlaced video fields for motion detection. It is able to capture a wide range of motions from slow to fast. The algorithm benefits from a hierarchal structure. It starts with detecting motion in large partitions of a given field. Depending on the detected motion activity level for that partition, the motion detection algorithm might recursively be applied to sub-blocks of the original partition. Two different low pass filters are used during the motion detection to increase the algorithm accuracy. The result of motion detection is then used in the proposed motion adaptive interpolator. The performance of the proposed deinterlacing algorithm is compared to previous methods in the literature. Experimenting with several standard video sequences, the method proposed in this work shows excellent results for motion detection and deinterlacing performance

Energy efficient enabling technologies for semantic video processing on mobile devices

Semantic object-based processing will play an increasingly important role in future multimedia systems due to the ubiquity of digital multimedia capture/playback technologies and increasing storage capacity. Although the object based paradigm has many undeniable benefits, numerous technical challenges remain before the applications becomes pervasive, particularly on computational constrained mobile devices. A fundamental issue is the ill-posed problem of semantic object segmentation. Furthermore, on battery powered mobile computing devices, the additional algorithmic complexity of semantic object based processing compared to conventional video processing is highly undesirable both from a real-time operation and battery life perspective. This thesis attempts to tackle these issues by firstly constraining the solution space and focusing on the human face as a primary semantic concept of use to users of mobile devices. A novel face detection algorithm is proposed, which from the outset was designed to be amenable to be offloaded from the host microprocessor to dedicated hardware, thereby providing real-time performance and reducing power consumption. The algorithm uses an Artificial Neural Network (ANN), whose topology and weights are evolved via a genetic algorithm (GA). The computational burden of the ANN evaluation is offloaded to a dedicated hardware accelerator, which is capable of processing any evolved network topology. Efficient arithmetic circuitry, which leverages modified Booth recoding, column compressors and carry save adders, is adopted throughout the design. To tackle the increased computational costs associated with object tracking or object based shape encoding, a novel energy efficient binary motion estimation architecture is proposed. Energy is reduced in the proposed motion estimation architecture by minimising the redundant operations inherent in the binary data. Both architectures are shown to compare favourable with the relevant prior art

Advanced Telecommunications and Signal Processing Program

Contains an introduction and reports on eleven research projects.Advanced Telecommunications Research Progra

Algorithm/Architecture Co-Exploration of Visual Computing: Overview and Future Perspectives

Concurrently exploring both algorithmic and architectural optimizations is a new design paradigm. This survey paper addresses the latest research and future perspectives on the simultaneous development of video coding, processing, and computing algorithms with emerging platforms that have multiple cores and reconfigurable architecture. As the algorithms in forthcoming visual systems become increasingly complex, many applications must have different profiles with different levels of performance. Hence, with expectations that the visual experience in the future will become continuously better, it is critical that advanced platforms provide higher performance, better flexibility, and lower power consumption. To achieve these goals, algorithm and architecture co-design is significant for characterizing the algorithmic complexity used to optimize targeted architecture. This paper shows that seamless weaving of the development of previously autonomous visual computing algorithms and multicore or reconfigurable architectures will unavoidably become the leading trend in the future of video technology