FPGA based image acquisition and graphic interface for hardness tests by indentation

We present a real-time video and image acquisition system, which has important characteristics such as modularity, configurability, versatility, and low cost. This system was developed on the Altera DE2 Board ® using Verilog HDL ® (Hardware Description Language), VHDL ® (VHSIC Hardware Description Language) and Block Diagram as coding languages. The proposed system architecture was applied for real-time image acquisition for hardness tests by indentation, using a specific microdurometer and a CCD camera. Our system provides an instrument for real-time image processing and evaluation controlled from a host computer, that is, for improvement and automatization of the evaluation of indentation footprints which traditionally has been performed by human operators. In addition, our system controls the image acquisition through graphic interface for storing the images with JPG or BMP format. The graphic interface was design using Delphi software and includes an algorithm to implement different configurations of infinite impulse response filters. Thus, the image storage is realized by a combination of software and hardware. Several experiments showed that our system has high real-time performance, stability and robustness with respect to electronic noise. Keywords— FPGA, graphic interface, image acquisition system, microdurometer, hardness test.