Embedded Vision and FPGAs: Camera interfaces made simple
Embedded vision is a growing topic in today’s connected world. Many applications are moving away from using the cloud and big servers for processing. Among those are Artificial intelligence, image recognition, or video monitoring. As a result, it pushes image processing closer to the edge. Making small size, lightweight, and low-power consumption key factors to consider. Special purpose hardware is opening the door into
the world of the embedded vision.
Designing an embedded vision system is not an easy task. Everything starts with picking the right sensor and designing the optics. Communication and configuration interfaces need to match the one of the application processors. Mechanical and Thermal limitations need to be taken into account as well. These constraints sometimes lead to sub-optimal solutions. The system becomes complex, hard to debug, and takes more time for development.
Removing interface limitations is where FPGAs come into play. They offer highly configurable hardware architecture giving you flexibility. It allows choosing the best sensor for your application regardless of the interface it uses. The FPGA handles the interface bridging for you. Even though the industry is moving to MIPI CSI-2 as de facto standard for video interfacing. We still find some good sensors with proprietary serial LVDS or parallel interfaces. Which are hard to connect to any modern application processor. In such use-cases, FPGAs are bridging the gap between the sensor and processor with ease.
The latest Crosslink-NX family of FPGAs from Lattice Semiconductors provides an easy-to-go solution. It is a perfect choice for developing video bridging applications. Several image sensors could be bridged and forwarded to the central processors. This is ensured by high-performance I/Os and native support for MIPI CSI-2. FPGA removes the limitations of the interfaces and allows for extra video processing. Reduces the workload for the software and power consumption of the system. Flexible and powerful Crosslink-NX is a perfect fit for the most demanding environment.
Moving to a new device or platform could be a complex and error-prone process. Even mature developers can face some challenges. Starting with an already proven design as PoC (proof of concept) is an ideal initial step. Looking for an experienced partner is an intelligent way of minimizing the risk. That will give the best support for any new technology and will help to assess all the challenges of the application.