Skip to main content
Log in

Abstract

This paper demonstrates an optimal time, fully systolic algorithm for edge detection on a mesh connected processor array. It uses only inexpensive addition and comparison operations which makes it ideal for fine grained parallelism in VLSI. Given anN xN image in the form of a two-dimensional array of pixels, our algorithm computes the Sobel and Laplacian operators for skimming lines in the image and then generates the Hough array using thresholding. The Hough transforms forM different angles of projection are obtained in a fully systolic manner inO(M+N) time, which is asymptotically optimal. In comparison, a previously published multiplication free algorithm has a time complexity ofO(NM). An implementation of our algorithm on a mesh connected finegrained processor array is discussed, which computes at the rate of approximately 170,000 Hough transforms per second using a 50 MHz clock.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. W.D. Hillis, “The Connection Machine,” MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass, 1986.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  2. S.F. Reddaway, “DAP—A distributed array processor,” inProc. First Annual Symposium on Computer Architecture pp. 61–65, 1973.

  3. T.M. Silberberg, “The Hough transform on the geometric arithmetic parallel processor,”Proc. IEEE Workshop on Computer Architecture for Pattern Analysis and Image Data Base Management, pp. 387–391, 1985.

  4. M. Borah, C. Nagendra, R.M. Owens, and M.J. Irwin, “The MGAP: A high-performance, user-programmable, multifunctional architecture for DSP,”Proc. of HICSS Vol. 1, No. 6, pp. 94–100, Feb. 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  5. C.K. Hanahara, T. Maruyama, and T. Uchiyama, “A real-time processor for the Hough-transform,”IEEE Trans. on PAMI, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 121–125, Jan. 1988.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. F.M. Rhodes, J.J. Dituri, G.H. Chapman, B.E. Emerson, A.M. Soars, and J.I. Raffel, “A monolithic hough-transform processor based on restructurable VLSI,”IEEE Trans. on PAMI, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 111–119, Jan. 1988.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. C. Nagendra, R.M. Owens, and M.J. Irwin, “Digit pipelined arithmetic on fine-grain array processors,”The Journal of VLSI Signal Processing, pp. 193–209, Sept. 1995.

  8. P.V. Hough, “Methods and means to recognize complex patterns,” U.S. Patent 3,069,654, 1962.

  9. C. Nagendra, M. Borah, M. Vishwanath, R.M. Owens, and M.J. Irwin, “Edge detection using fine-grain parallelism in VLSI,” inProc. ICASSP'93, Vol. I, pp. 401–404, Apr. 1993.

  10. J. Illingworth and J. Kittler, “The adaptive Hough transform,”IEEE Trans. on PAMI, Vol. 9, No. 5, pp. 690–698 Sept. 1987.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. H. Li, M.A. Levin and R.J. LeMaster, “Fast Hough transform,”CVGIP, Vol. 36, pp. 139–161, 1986

    Google Scholar 

  12. Atiquzzaman, “Multiresolution Hough transform—An efficient method of detecting patterns in images,IEEE Trans. on PAMI, Vol. 14, No. 11, pp. 1090–1095, Nov. 1992

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. J.E. Vuillemin, “Fast linear hough transform,”Proceedings of ASAP, pp. 1–9, Aug. 1994.

  14. D. Pao, H.F. Li, and R. Jayakumar, “Shape recognition using the straight line HT: Theory and generalization,”IEEE Trans. on PAMI, Vol. 14, No. 11, pp. 1076–1082, 1992.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. C.K. Chan and M.B. Sandler, “A neural network shape recognition system with Hough transform input feature space,”Conference Publication, Vol. 354, pp. 197, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  16. M.A. Cooper, “A probability weighted Hough transform technique shape retrieval from noisy imagery,”Pattern recognition letters, Vol. 15, No. 6, pp. 619, June 1994.

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  17. S. Kumar, N. Ranganathan and D. Goldgof, “Parallel algorithms for circle detection on a mesh-connected array of processors,”Pattern Recognition, pp. 1019–1028, Aug. 1994

  18. C. Guerra and S. Hambrusch, “Parallel algorithms for line detection on a mesh,”Journal of Parallel and Distributed Computing, Vol. 6, pp. 1–19, 1989.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. R.E. Cypher, J.L.C. Sanz, and L. Snyder “The Hough transform hasO(N) complexity onN x N mesh connected computers,”SIAM Journal of Computing, Vol. 19, No. 5, pp. 805–820, Oct. 1990.

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  20. J.J. Little, G.E. Blelloch, and T.A. Cass, “Algorithmic techniques for computer vision ona fine-grained parallel machine,”IEEE Trans. on PAMI, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 244–257, Mar. 1989.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. A.L. Fisher and P.T. Highnam, “Computing the Hough transform on a scan line array processor,”IEEE Trans. on PAMI, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 262–265, Mar. 1989.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. H.F. Li, Derek Pao, and R. Jayakumar, “Improvements and systolic implementation of the Hough transformation for straight line detection,”Pattern Recognition, Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 697–706, 1989.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. A.P. Chandrakasan, S. Sheng, and R.W. Brodersen, “Low-power CMOS digital design,”IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, Vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 473–483, Apr. 1992.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. R.C. Gonsalez and R.E. Woods,Digital Image Processing, Chap. 7, Addison-Wesley, 1992,

  25. E.R. Davies, “Skimming technique for fast accurate edge detection,”Signal Processing, Vol. 26, No. 1, pp. 1–16, Jan. 1992.

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  26. A. Avizienis, “Signed-digit number representation for fast parallel arithmetic,”IRE Trans. on Electronic Computers pp. 389, 1961.

  27. M.J. Irwin and R.M. Owens, “A micro-grained VLSI signal processor,” inICASSP-92, pp. 641–644, Mar. 1992.

  28. E.B. Sanz, J.L.C. Hinkle, and A.K. Jain,Radon and Projection Transform-Based Computer Vision, Springer-Verlag, 1988.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Additional information

This research was partially supported by National Science Foundation under Grant No. MIP 8902636

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Borah, M., Nagendra, C., Vishwanath, M. et al. An optimal time multiplication free algorithm for edge detection on a mesh. J VLSI Sign Process Syst Sign Image Video Technol 13, 67–75 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00930668

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00930668

Keywords

Navigation