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Window memoization: toward high-performance image processing software

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Abstract

In this paper, we present a new performance improvement technique, window memoization, for software implementations of local image processing algorithms. Window memoization combines the memoization techniques proposed in software and hardware with data redundancy in image processing to improve the performance of local image processing algorithms. It minimizes the number of redundant computations performed on an image by identifying similar neighborhoods of pixels in the image and skipping the computations that are not necessary. This leads to performance improvement in software. We have developed an optimized architecture for window memoization in software and applied it to six image processing algorithms. We have also developed a performance model to predict the speedups obtained by window memoization in software. The typical (average) speedups range from 1.2x to 7.9x while the total average speedup for different algorithms with different input images across different processors is 3.95x.

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Notes

  1. This method of fast symbol generation, which benefits from overlapping windows in the image, is similar to Huang’s [10] method for fast median filter.

  2. The error in an image (Img) with respect to a reference image (R Img ) is usually measured by signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as [8]: \(\hbox{SNR} = 20\hbox{log}_{10}(\frac{A_{\hbox{signal}}}{A_{\hbox{noise}}})\) where A is the RMS (root mean squared) amplitude. \(A^2_{\hbox{noise}}\) is defined as: \(A^{2}_{\hbox{noise}} =\frac{1}{rc} \sum\nolimits_{i=0}^{r-1}\sum\nolimits_{j=0}^{c-1}(Img(i,j)-R_{Img}(i,j))^2\) where \(r \times c\) is the size of Img and R Img .

  3. c a: average number of CPU cycles for arithmetic operations

  4. c l: average number of CPU cycles for logical operations

  5. c mul: average number of CPU cycles for multiplication operations

  6. c m: average number of CPU cycles for memory operations

  7. Area overlap for two sets A and B is calculated as \(\frac{|A \cap B|}{|A \cup B|}. \)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Systems Design Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    Farzad Khalvati & Hamid R. Tizhoosh

  2. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    Mark D. Aagaard

Authors
  1. Farzad Khalvati
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  2. Mark D. Aagaard
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  3. Hamid R. Tizhoosh
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Correspondence to Farzad Khalvati.

Appendix

Appendix

In this section, we present the numerical values of speedups and results accuracy for window memoization in software. For natural images, we also present the original results for a sample image along with the results for window memoization for all six case study algorithms used in this paper. The algorithms include Canny edge detector (Canny), morphological gradient (Morpho), Kirsch edge detector (Kirsch), corner detector (Corner), median filter (Median), and local variance calculator (Variance) (Tables 11, 12, 13, 14; Figs. 11, 12).

Fig. 11
figure 11

Results for a sample natural image. Top to bottom Canny, morphological, and Kirsch edge detectors. Left original results, right window memoization results

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Fig. 12
figure 12

Results for a sample natural image. Top to bottom Corner detection, median filter, and local variance. Left original results, right window memoization results

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Table 11 Speedups (average) for processor 1 (high-end)
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Table 12 Speedups (average) for processor 2 (mid-range)
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Table 13 Speedups (average) for processor 3 (low-end)
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Table 14 Accuracy (average) of the results
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Khalvati, F., Aagaard, M.D. & Tizhoosh, H.R. Window memoization: toward high-performance image processing software. J Real-Time Image Proc 10, 5–25 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11554-012-0247-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11554-012-0247-8

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