A scalable latency-insensitive architecture for FPGA-accelerated semi-global matching in stereo vision applications

Semi-Global Matching (SGM) is a high-performance method for computing high-quality disparity maps from stereo camera images in machine vision applications. It is also suitable for direct hardware execution, e.g., in ASICs or reconfigurable logic devices. We present a highly parametrized FPGA implementation, scalable from simple low-resolution low-power use-cases, up to complex real-time full-HD multi-camera scenarios. By using a latency-insensitive design style, high-level synthesis from the Bluespec SystemVerilog next-generation hardware description language, and an automated design-space exploration flow, many implementation alternatives could be examined with high productivity. The use of the Threadpool Composer system-on-chip assembly tool allows the portable mapping of the SGM accelerator to different hardware platforms. The accelerator performance exceeds that of prior fixed-architecture approaches.