Low power high-performance smart camera system based on SCAMP vision sensor

• Published in: Journal of systems architecture 2013-11, Vol.59 (10), p.889-899
• Main Authors: Carey, Stephen J., Barr, David R.W., Dudek, Piotr
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algorithms; Arrays; Cellular arrays; Digitization; Energy consumption; High performance systems; Image processing; Image processing systems; Integrated circuits; Intelligent systems; Low power; Microcontrollers; Parallel processing; Pixels; Power; Power consumption; Sensors; SIMD; Studies; Vision; Vision chip
• ISSN: 1383-7621; 1873-6165
• DOI: 10.1016/j.sysarc.2013.03.016

Vision sensors based upon pixel-parallel cellular processor arrays offer the unique opportunity to realise high-performance, flexible, low power image processing systems. By virtue of processing on the focal-plane, the energy-demanding requirement to digitize a captured frame’s raw pixel data is reduced, with returned data constituting only that which is salient. We describe a stand-alone vision system incorporating a SCAMP-3 vision chip, an FPGA and an ARM Cortex-M3 microcontroller. SCAMP integrated circuits operate as SIMD computers; each pixel incorporating a compact but powerful analogue processor and local memory, with all operations occurring in parallel over the 128×128 array. Algorithms are developed to operate natively upon the focal-plane as far as possible, with additional serial and higher-level operations occurring on the microcontroller. The power consumption of the system is algorithm-dependent. An algorithm developed for loiterer detection at 8fps has been shown to consume an average power of 5.5mW, with a more complex object tracking and counting system consuming 29mW.