Design of fast motion estimation algorithm based on hardware consideration

Most fast block-matching motion estimation (BMME) algorithms are designed to minimize the search positions (or checking points) in a given search range in order to speed up the computation. In this paper, we introduce a fast BMME algorithm based on the consideration of hardware implementation. We use a one-dimensional (1-D) systolic array as the basic computing engine. In order to utilize this engine efficiently, we process several adjacent checking points, called checking vector, simultaneously. We propose a checking-vector-based search strategy and show that it can achieve a better algorithmic performance and can be very cost-effective in terms of hardware implementation for low bit-rate video applications.