FLEXIBLE IMAGE PROCESSING SYSTEM.

A multiprocessor system for image processing is presented. Structural requirements are shown for frequently used image processing tasks. Design principles and implementation techniques to realize high performance capabilities in a multiprocessor system are described in terms of simultaneous processing, structural flexibility, and data input/output. The FLIP (Flexible Image Processing system) is operated in conjunction with a host computer and can perform up to 64 MIPS (Million Instructions Per Second). FLIP can be considered as a multi-pipeline-processor comprising 16 individual processors and a high speed data input/output processor. The structural flexibility of FLIP is achieved by its individual processors. Some practical applications (e. g. image differentiation, image convolution) are explained to demonstrate FLIP's system performance.