SAFE: A self adaptive frame enhancer FPGA-based IP-core for real-time space applications

Abstract

Video-based navigation is an increasingly used procedure with hard real-time requirements and high computational effort. In this field, FPGA hardware acceleration supplies low-cost and considerable performances enhancement. Video-based navigation algorithms extrapolate and correlate features from images, relying on their accuracy. Image enhancement provides more defined and contrasted frames, assuring high precision feature extraction. The paper introduces an FPGA-based self-adaptive image enhancer. The IP-core is suitable for hard-real time applications, such as space applications, thanks to the guaranteed high-throughput.