A software demonstrator for cognitive image processing using the Associative Memory chip

This paper presents the design of a software demonstrator to be used in conjunction an embedded system for real-time pattern matching. The demonstrator was designed to verify the proper hardware operation and to calculate the various constants used, thus the operations on the underlying model are bit-accurate. The embedded hardware is based on systems that have been developed for use in the field of High Energy Physics (HEP) and, in particular, in the trigger system of the ATLAS Experiment. The algorithm which is implemented is based on the learning process of the human vision and acts as an edge detector. The demonstrator is using the Qt application framework and the underlying model is written in C++. This separation allows the application to be used as an image viewer or as a command line tool. The latter allows the fast and efficient use of the application for the parallel processing of multiple images, the generation of Pattern Banks and the calculation of the constants used in the hardware.