Hands-on Workshop:
FPGA Programming for Embedded Vision
FPGAs and embedded vision are an ideal combination and with the right tools and know-how, hardware design and programming can be realized quickly, easily and cost-effectively. In a joint workshop, Efinix and Vision Components will present the latest technical developments and principles for design-in and FPGA programming with Verilog. The workshop is aimed at FPGA programmers for advanced training in the field of image processing and at vision experts, who want to expand their skills in the implementation of image processing algorithms on FPGAs.
23.04.2024
9:30 – 17:00 Uhr
Ettlingen near Karlsruhe
Agenda
Registration
Hardware Design, Programming and Implementation
In the extensive practical part, participants will work with demonstrators based on a Raspberry Pi, the VC Power SoM accelerator board with Efinix Trion FPGA and a VC MIPI® camera module. Based on case studies, they will program their own algorithms for typical applications such as image storage, image improvement, color space conversion and pattern recognition while receiving important tips for the use in their own projects.
Date, Registration and Costs
23 April 2024, 9:30 am – 5:00 pm
The workshop by Efinix and Vision Components will take place on site at Vision Components in Ettlingen near Karlsruhe. The participation costs 149 € per person. The price includes lunch, drinks and the demonstrator (purchase option for demonstrators included). The workshop will be held in English.
Overview of the Workshop Topics
The participants of the workshop will learn how FPGAs can be used for demanding tasks in the field of image processing. The focus is on the use of the Efinix Trion FPGA family in combination with the VC Power SoM.
Basic principles of hardware design with FPGA
FPGA programming with Verilog
Algorithms for image processing and image filters
Simulation with iverilog and implementation
Speakers at the Workshop
Michael Engel, Company Founder and Managing Director Vision Components
Jan-Erik Schmitt, Vice President of Sales Vision Components
Harald Werner, Managing Director, Senior Sales Director EMEA, EFINIX
Maximilian Werner, Field Application Engineer, EMEA, EFINIX
Agenda
9:30 – 11 am: Welcoming and introduction
- FPGA technologies for embedded vision
- Introduction to the Efinix FPGA series
11 – 12 pm: Beginning of the workshop
- Hardware design with FPGA: synchronous and asynchronous design
- Control units
- Synchronizing external signals
- Timing
- Programming languages: Verilog, C
- Syntax and programming style
- Combinatorial and synchronous instructions
- Example: counter for flashing LED
- Parallelism and pipelining
- Example of a shift register
- What is a (synchronous) FIFO?
- Task and function
- Implementation
- The AXI stream interface
- Traps and rules for implementation
12 – 1 pm: Lunch break and catering
12 – 5 pm: Algorithmics and examples
- Tips for the implementation of algorithms
- Example: sobel operator
- Batch-Buffering
- Counterexample: fall-through implementation
- Simulation
- iverilog example
- VC Power SoM
- Block diagram, connections
- Power supply, LEDs
- Programming
- DDR3 RAM
- QSPI Flash
- Mipi-Interface
- LVDS-Interface
- I/O
- MIPI
- MIPI-DPhy Low-Power Mode, High Speed Mode
- Role of the Linux driver
- The most important MIPI packages FS, FE, RAW8, RGB
- Case studies
- Simple image storage
- Image improvement (median, contrast, sharpness, averaging)
- Barcode reading (search)
- Data matrix reading (search)
- Bayer-to-RGB, color space conversion (ISP functionality)
- Motion analysis (blob analysis)
- Pattern recognition (correlation, matching)
- Stereo (3D epipolar correction)
- Geometry processor (rectification of fisheye lenses)
- Stitching
- Laser profiling (fast finding of lines, COG)
- Motion analysis
- Questions & answers, conclusion of the event
About the Companies
Efinix
Efinix specializes in the development and manufacture of flexible, high-performance FPGAs for use in industry, communications and consumer electronics. The company's innovations include Quantum technology, which offers fast system speeds and high power density due to its flexible routing structure. With the power- and price-optimized Trion series Efinix also offers FPGAs, which are ideal for integration into embedded vision projects thanks to their hard-wired MIPI CSI-2 interface. In addition, the company offers a design environment for FPGA programming with Verilog and VHDL.
Vision Components
Vision Components has been a leading manufacturer of embedded vision systems for over 25 years. The product range includes flexible MIPI camera modules, freely programmable cameras with ARM/Linux and OEM systems for 2D and 3D image processing. The accelerator board VC Power SoM is part of the VC MIPI ecosystem. It is equipped with an Efinix Trion FPGA and enables complex image pre-processing in the MIPI data stream. The VC Power SoM can be integrated as a component directly into the electronic design of a processor board.
Embedded Vision with FPGAs: High Computing Power on Edge Devices
FPGA technology is ideal for numerous embedded vision projects: It combines high computing power and real-time performance with low power consumption and an ultra-compact design. This also enables the processing of complex AI algorithms on edge devices and provides an optimal basis for autonomous robots, quality assurance tasks and automation. Once developed, FPGA algorithms can also be easily ported to new hardware designs, ensuring a high degree of investment safety and reuse of existing development efforts.