Communication in a multi-layer MIMD system for computer vision

Algorithms in computer vision are computationally intensive and have distin ct characteristics. Message-passing MIMD computers are popular architecture s for computer vision due to their flexibility and asynchronous structure. However, performance of parallel programs executed on these systems is depe ndent on the efficiency of inter-processor communication. This paper descri bes a software system developed to handle complex communication mechanisms for a system designed for computer vision applications. The system is const ructed with TI320C40 DSPs and employs the distributed memory MIMD paradigm. A set of experiments has been conducted to determine the hardware paramete rs of the communication links of the processors. Furthermore, the performan ces of the communication algorithms developed, which are frequently require d in parallel vision algorithms, are presented. These results will be usefu l in optimizing performance of parallel programs developed for the system. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.