A high-frame-rate embedded image-processing system by using a one-chip DSP

By combining a CMOS digital image sensor with windowing function to a one-chip DSP with programmable peripherals, a high-frame-rate embedded image-processing system has been developed to measure the target position. The system can capture the VGA format image (640times480 pixels) at the rate of 83 frames/sec, exceeding the conventional video rate of 30 frames/sec. The capture rate can be easily increased by using the windowing function in which the number of pixels to be captured is decreased. When a simple algorithm is examined for measuring the coordinates of the gravity center in an image with luminous targets, the processing time is always less than the capturing time for any size of the window. Consequently, it is confirmed that the system performance is inversely proportional only to the number of pixels in the image windowed. This simple relationship without any bottleneck is useful for high-speed motion control of mobile equipments such as cargo vehicles and robots.