Convergent micro-pipelines: a versatile operator for mixed asynchronous-synchronous computations

Abstract— Micro-pipelines are linear (1-D) structures for asynchronous communications. In retinotopic VLSI vision chips, communicating over 2-D image regions is a key to efficient midlevel vision computations. However, micro-pipelines are limited to 1-D communications only. In this paper, we introduce an extension of the micro-pipeline, called the convergent micropipeline, for implementing mixed asynchronous-synchronous regional computations over arbitrary shaped regions. This operator is exploited in programmable artificial retinas (PAR), that is, image sensors with a digital processor in each pixel, for low power vision applications. To illustrate its behavior and versatility, several regional computations are described.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2005
• Where: ISCAS
• Authors: Valentin Gies, Thierry M. Bernard, Alain Mérigot
• Keywords: ISCAS 2005, Midlevel Vision Computations, Regional Computations, Retinotopic Vlsi Vision