Vision system implementation based on smart retina

This paper discusses the architecture and implementation of a Smart Integrated Retina based vision system dedicated for intelligent vehicles applications. The Retina is a circuit that combines image acquisition and analog processing elements allowing the achievement of real-time image processing with high efficiency in terms of speed and power consumption. In the current version, an external processor is used to control the data flow image processing. This will enable us to evaluate the performance needed and the implementation of such a processor in the same integrated circuit. This architecture will exploit in an optimal way the capabilities of the retina. The approach is compared with state-of-the-art vision chips build using digital SIMD arrays and vision systems using CMOS sensors combined with FPGA technology. As a test bench, an advanced algorithm for an exposure time calibration is presented with experimental results.