A general purpose, expandable processor for real-time computer graphics

Abstract

A class of critical computer requirements for real-time scan T.V. computer graphics is examined in relation to commercially available CPU architectures. Finding general purpose processors not suited, a new processor is proposed which is designed around the concept of 'instruction set partitioning.' In this design, special hardware-implemented algorithms may be included in the machine instruction set, and these processors allowed to operate asynchronously from each other. The design is projected to generate a complete new frame of a color T.V. picture every 0.1-0.8 s depending on image complexity. Due to its inherent generality, the CPU may be similarly expanded to encompass a wide variety of other specialized, or real-time tasks with minimal additional hardware. The 32-bit parallel processor has a design cycle time of 100 ns and is in the price class of a minicomputer. © 1975.