Modular Design Framework for Video Processing

This paper describes a design framework for video processing that facilitates hardware acceleration of software applications. Our framework contains two elements, both encouraging a modular design style. First, we adopt a multi-layer approach for design management that promotes design reuse, which simplifies the incorporation of user-developed hardware in popular applications such as Premiere, VirtualDub and DirectShow. Second, we provide a method that speeds up design validation by enabling simulation of design components in a realistic environment with complete visibility of internal signals, while reducing the need for running timeconsuming FPGA back-end tools. Software application developers can use our framework to discover hardware accelerated data processors, and to access them in a transparent, non-hardware specific manner. Hardware developers can use our framework as an instance testbed for validation and benchmarking. Our framework has been used for application development involving various design languages such as Handel-C and VHDL, targeting a number of hardware platforms including the RC1000 and the UltraSONIC.