Real-time Obstacle Detection on a Massively Parallel Linear Architecture

This paper presents a real-time solution to the problem of obstacle detection in automotive applications using image processing techniques. To speed-up the processing a massively parallel engine has been used and the algorithms tuned to match the speciic features of the computing architecture. The system acquires pairs of stereo images, checks for correspondences, and remaps the resulting image in a new domain to ease the following processing steps. The whole processing is performed on PAPRICA-3, a massively parallel system whose processing elements are disposed on a linear array; the proposed system allows to reach video rate performance. The whole system is currently simulated and is expected to be available by mid`98.