DATA-DRIVEN ARRAY PROCESSOR FOR VIDEO SIGNAL-PROCESSING

We present a software approach to digital video signal processing. This approach is based on a programmable array processor that can be used as a building block to construct systems of arbitrary complexity. The processor consists of 16 individually programmable cells with 12-bit RISC architectures; the peak performance is 4 GOPS, the maximum data transfer rate across chip boundaries is 750 MByte/s. The processor executes statically scheduled data flow programs. To this end, all communication - whether between cells or processors - is data-driven (as opposed to clock-driven). Self-timed hardware mechanisms have been provided that handle the asynchronous data flows automatically and transparently. © 1990 IEEE