Mihajlo Katona

A real-time wavelet-domain video denoising implementation in FPGA

The use of field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) for digital signal processing (DSP) has increased with the introduction of dedicated multipliers, which allow the implementation of complex algorithms. This architecture is especially effective for data-intensive applications with extremes in data throughput. Recent studies prove that the FPGAs offer better solutions for real-time multiresolution video processing than any available processor, DSP or general-purpose. FPGA design of critically sampled discrete wavelet transforms has been thoroughly studied in literature over recent years. Much less research was done towards FPGA design of overcomplete wavelet transforms and advanced wavelet-domain video processing algorithms. This paper describes the parallel implementation of an advanced wavelet-domain noise filtering algorithm, which uses a nondecimated wavelet transform and spatially adaptive Bayesian wavelet shrinkage. The implemented arithmetic is decentralized and distributed over two FPGAs. The standard composite television video stream is digitalized and used as a source for real-time video sequences. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed scheme for real-time video processing.

Touch-Screen Stimulation for Automated Verification of Touchscreen-Based Devices

This paper presents an approach to stimulation of the touch-screen as part of the automated system for smart phone and tablet verification. Stimulation is performed in two ways: by touching the screen with the long conductor connected to the ground and by stimulating the screen with orthogonal conductive lines. The conductor is disconnected from the screen electrically, with the use of a transistor. Controlling the on/off state of the transistor controls whether the conductor touches the screen or not. The capacitance of the conductor is enough to change the structure of the electric field such that the touch-screen controller senses the touch when the conductor is connected to the screen, which happens when the transistor is turned on. The system was tested using different touch areas. It showed a clear increase in touch frequency detected by the controller when the transistor is turned on.

Automated optical inspection system for digital TV sets

This article proposes a real-time test and verification system for full-reference automatic image quality assessment and verification of digital TV sets. Digital camera is used for acquisition of the TV screen content in order to ensure quality assessment of the content as perceived by the user. Test has been executed in three steps: image acquisition by camera, TV screen content extraction and full-reference image quality assessment. The TV screen content is extracted from the captured image in two steps: detection of the TV screen edge and transformation of the TV screen content to dimensions of the reference image. Three image comparison methods are incorporated to perform full-reference image quality assessment. Reference image for quality assessment is obtained either by grabbing the image from TV set or by capturing the TV screen content on the golden sample. Digital camera was later replaced with DSP-based camera for image acquisition and algorithm execution which brought significant performance improvements. The comparison methods were tested under constant and variable illumination conditions. The proposed system is used to automate the verification step on the final production line of digital TV sets. The time required for verification step decreased by a factor of 5 when using the proposed system on the final production line instead of a manual one.

FPGA design and implementation of a wavelet-domain video denoising system

Multiresolution video denoising is becoming an increasingly popular research topic over recent years. Although several wavelet based algorithms reportedly outperform classical single-resolution approaches, their concepts are often considered as prohibitive for real-time processing. Little research has been done so far towards hardware customization of wavelet domain video denoising. A number of recent works have addressed the implementation of critically sampled orthogonal wavelet transforms and the related image compression schemes in Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA). However, the existing literature on FPGA implementations of overcomplete (non-decimated) wavelet transforms and on manipulations of the wavelet coefficients that are more complex than thresholding is very limited. In this paper we develop FPGA implementation of an advanced wavelet domain noise filtering algorithm, which uses a non-decimated wavelet transform and spatially adaptive Bayesian wavelet shrinkage. The standard composite television video stream is digitalized and used as source for real-time video sequences. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed scheme for real time video processing.

Road Nail: Intelligent road marking system testbed

In this paper we present Road Nail, an intelligent road marking system with the wireless network of signaling devices that are mounted near the road edge. “Nails” or signaling devices are autonomous nodes with capability to accumulate electrical energy into battery which is obtained from solar panels. In addition, the nodes exchange wireless messages, detect approaching vehicles and emit signalization light. We have built an experimental testbed that consists of 20 nodes and a cellular gateway. In this paper, implementation details of the above system, including extensive measurements and performance evaluations in realistic field deployments are presented.

Cloud enhanced smart home technologies

Cloud computing is making its way towards use at home. This paper presents a cloud for smart home. We present review of technologies for smart home and give an integrated cloud-based energy- and carbon-efficient architecture.

Automated system for testing and verification of control access kernel functionality in set-top boxes

This paper presents a novel approach and system for automated testing conditional access kernel (CAK) which is embedded in the set-top box (STB). The proposed system is based on a “black-box” testing approach where the testing is performed only by comparing the expected output and the tested output of the STB under test, given the input test signal. For the purpose of testing the CAK functionality we use “On Screen Display” module from the STB, which sends the messages from the CAK in the form of pop-ups on the output video signal. The final functional verification of the CAK within the STB under test is done by detecting pop-ups and their content from the output video signal, and comparing it to the expected one in a specific time interval and under specifically set access conditions of the STB.

A cross-curriculum open design platform approach to electronic and computing systems education

This paper summarizes the experiences of global faculty (N. America, Europe, Asia) in using an open design platform approach for project-based active learning in electronics, computing and ICT engineering education. A common design platform was used to support courses spanning a range of university engineering levels from 2nd year undergraduate to 2nd second year postgraduate programs, and across a range of disciplines from Digital Systems, Embedded Systems, VLSI/SoC-Design, Digital Communications and Signal Processing.

An Approach for Software/Hardware Co-design in Embedded Systems

In this paper an approach to hardware and software partitioning for real-time embedded systems is given. The approach is applied and tested on an existing system.

An Integrated Audio and Video Communication System for Digital Television Sets

This paper presents an integrated hands-free audio and video communication system for digital television sets. The system is an embedded real-time add-on device of the standard digital TV set. It consists of a digital camera and microphone array which are connected to the TV set through the High-Definition Multimedia Interface. The system is extendable with a 3G modem to become capable to work in a stand-alone mode as a video phone for 3G network. The hardware architecture of the system consists of: (1) the central processing module and (2) remote controller with voice call interface and support for typing text messages. The main software components are: (1) video decoding, (2) engine, (3) On-Screen Display support for videophone, (4) remote control handling, (5) display control and (6) sound control. The system provides hands-free video communication, excellent sound quality via TV loudspeakers and simultaneous watch of the TV broadcast. While the communication with remote user is active, the existing sound from the TV broadcast program is efficiently suppressed with the embedded audio processing engine. This is possible with microphone array usage and sophisticated voice processing algorithms in the background. The system aims to extend functionality of TV sets and improve user experience.