High-speed region detection and labeling using an FPGA-based custom computing platform

Abstract

General purpose custom computing platforms, such as Splash-2, have demonstrated the ability to enter mainstream computing not only due to their near application-specific speeds but also because of their ability to run a wide variety of tasks. Splash-2 is a second-generation FPGA-based system that can deliver processing performance rivaling application-specific systems, but is also reconfigurable. This paper describes a computationally intensive image processing task, known as region labeling, which demonstrates the effectiveness of such platforms. The design and implementation of a region labeling task on the Splash-2 custom computing platform are described and the resulting performance is compared with that of other machines.