 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Index RVM Home Applications Challenges Hardware 
Architecture
Baseboard Host Interface Modules Software People |
The basic element of the RVM system is the
hardware module. Typically, modules are DSP processors, but they
may also be special-purpose processing modules (such as convolver chips)
or IO modules (such as AD and DA converters for video). Well-defined
module interfaces make it easy to design new modules as needed to address
specific tasks.
A single machine may have only a single module, or it may have over 100. Modules are connected via 8-bit, 50Mhz communications ports to form almost any topology required. The only limitation is that most modules can only support 3 input and 3 output connections (although larger modules may have more).
In addition to the point-to-point communications ports,
the architecture provides two global communications paths. The first
of these is a Syncronous Image Bus which allows a single module to transmit
data to all other modules at 50 MB/Sec. This pathway is very useful
for broadcasting an image stream to a large number of processors.
The second global pathway is called the Global Bus and is a relatively
low-speed bus (10 MB/Sec) controlled by the Host Interface processor.
This bus is used for loading code into the DSPs, communicating processing
results, etc...
|
The
diagram to the left illustrates a typical RVM system. The modules
used by this machine (shown in yellow boxes) include a video digitizer
module, 5 DSP processors, a video display module, and a Host Interface
processor.